TOE  WORST  FI  NANCIALSY5TE 
t  '  .  IN  THE  WORLD.  # 


liT  xiit  iut  ifar^< 


WITH  THEiTRUE  SECRET  OF 

LINCOLN’S  ASSASSINATION 


inif  w  TOr  w  W 


How  few  People  get  Rich  and 
others  become  Poor. 


vTC  . 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 


Theft,  mutilation,  and  underlining  of  books 
are  reasons  for  disciplinary  action  and  may 
result  in  dismissal  from  the  University. 
University  of  Illinois  Library 


i;  1 1  r->  /‘V  ' 


MU  -9  |:)B7 


L161— 0-1096 


TO  MY  READERS. 


The  newspapers,  controlled  by  the  Rothchilds-Belmont-Mor- 
gan  Gold  Ring,  and  subsidized  by  the  National  Bankers,  have 
not  dared  to  assail  the  facts  and  deductions  which  I  make  in 
this  book.  Some  of  them,  realizing  their  inability  to  disprove 
my  statements,  have  tried  to  discredit  this  book  by  criticising 
the  language  employed.  I  am  not  one  of  the  non-producing 
graduates  of  colleges,  supported  by  money  filched  from  the  people 
by  such  ghouls  and  monopolistic  vampires  as  the  Rockefelders, 
Yerkes,  Drexels,  Vanderbilts,  and  others  of  their  kind. 

I  am  a  hard  workingman,  who  would  rather  write  the  truth 
ungrammatically  than  to  pen  falsehoods  coutched  in  elegant  and 
faultless  language.  If  any  of  my  critics  and  defamers  can  say 
as  much  it  will  be  a  great  surprise  to  me. 

The  Author. 


ISTOTZOE- 

All  the  mercenary  persons  who  are  working  for  the  currency  contrac- 
tionists,  those  who  are  interested  or  paid  by  the  mortgage  sharks  to  misrepre¬ 
sent  things  are  challenged  to  bring  forth  all  the  dollars  they  can  produce^ 
stamped  or  to  be  stamped  by  the  United  States  Government  as  LEGAL 
TENDER  DOLLARS,  of  any  material,  to  the  writer,  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
and  receive  not  a  fifty  or  seventy-five-cent  dollar ^  as  they  call  it,  but  will 
receive  ninety-nine  cents  for  every  dollar  brought.  One  cent  profit  is  what 
L  want  L  have  faith  in  the  government.  So  come  on,  L  mean  business,  and 
dare  you  to  come  with  all  you  have. 

CART.  S.  NLCOLETTL, 

lJf20  New  York  Ave.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


A  GOLD  CONSPIRACY 


Tlie  Worst  FiiancialSysiein  in  tie  forlfl. 


HOW  THE  BANKERS  GET  RICH 

AND 

ALL  OTHERS  GET  POOR, 

H  radical  cbana^  neebeb* 

BY 

CAPT.  S.  NICOLETTl 

OF 

LOS  ANGELES^  CAL. 


pally  Illustrated. 


Giving  the  dates  of  all  the  most  important  Laws  passed  by  Congress,  pertaining 
to  the  money  question,  and  Other  Illustrations. 


PUBLISHED  BY 


rhe  Progressive  American  Publishing  Company  of  New  York. 

1896. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress 
IN  THE  YEAR  1894, 
by  the  Author 
CAPT.  S.  NICOLETTI, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D  C. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


The  Illustrations  in  this  book  are  from  originals 
and  protected  by  copyright. 

Anyone  infringing  on  said  Right  will  be  prosecuted  to  the 

fullest  extent  of  the  law. 


!  > 


K/ 


n 


OONTENTS. 

A  Defective  Banking  System  and  the  People’s  Loss  on 

Account  of  National  Bank  Failures . 

A  Gold  Conspiracy . 

American  Bankers’  Association’s  Circulars . 

cv  An  Object  Lesson . 

^Are  the  Bonds  Valid . 

^  Bankers  Like  the  Message . 

^Bankers  Mean  What  They  Say . 

Cleveland’s  Comedy  of  the  Bonds  .  . . 

Cleveland’s  Special  Message . 

Destroying  Greenbacks . 

Do  You  Read — Testimonials . 

English  Hate  Against  Lincoln . 

Enlargement  of  Our  National  Debt  by  Falling  Prices.  .  , 

First  Paper  Money  in  the  United  States . 

Gold  Exports  Before  and  After  Repeal  of  the  Purchase  Ac 
Here  is  the  Act . 

History  Repeats  Itself— What  Will  be  the  Result  Here  . 
How  the  Bankers  Always  Get  the  Crops  and  the  Farm 

How  the  Bankers  Fool  the  People . 

How  You  Are  Robbed . 

Introduction . 

I  Looting  the  Treasury — Raids  First  to  Fourth . 

'^McKinley  Endorses  Cleveland . 

Newspaper  Points . 

North  and  South . 

j  Now  Comes  the  Trouble . 

vOur  Country’s  Defective  Policy . 

^  Panic  of  1893  . 

'^'Points  for  the  People . . 

^Preface  to  Second  Edition . 

\  President  Cleveland  on  Silver . 

J  Sworn  Statement  of  Frederick  Luckenbach . 

Ten  Million  More  of  Honest  Money . . 

The  Assassination  of  Lincoln — Why?.  .  .  . 

xTheir  First  Dirty  Work . 

;  The  Law  and  How  Different  it  is  Administered . 

^The  $100,000,000  Gold  Reserve . 

My  Readers . 

^Vote  on  the  National  Banking  Act . 

JWhat  a  National  Banker  Can  Do . 

■^'Why  the  Bonds  were  Not  Advertised . 

^Words  from  Wise  Men . . 


S 


PAGE. 

71 

11-13 

44-52 

77 

57-59 

67 

69 
53-55 

66 

108 

7,8 

36.43 

73 
14-16 

60 

21-28 

74 
87 
83 
56 

9, 10 
63-65 

68 

108-122 

16-18 

33 

70 

60-62 

99-108 

6 

97 

48 

20 

34-36 

18-19 

91 

94 

5 

28-29 

31-33 

55 

78-81 


'i6633/ 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


Since  the  publication  of  this  book  I  have  received  numerous 
letters  of  commendation  from  all  classes  of  people,  among  them 
a  great  many  prominent  citizens,  besides  the  sale  has  proved  so 
satisfactory  that  not  a  single  copy  is  left  of  the  first  edition.  In 
order  to  comply  with  the  general  demand  for  this  book,  it  affords 
me  pleasure  to  issue  a  second  and  more  complete  edition  in  which 
any  errors  in  the  first  edition  have  been  corrected.  What  I  pre¬ 
dicted  in  my  public  addresses  three  years  ago,  came  to  pass  as  I 
prophesied.  The  friends  of  true  financial  Refiorm  will  undoubedly 
aid  me  in  my  efforts  to  down  the  evils  now  existing,  but  it  is  not 
sufficient  that  they  send  me  only  words  of  approval.  The  works 
of  propaganda  must  be  pushed  vigorously,  fearlessly,  and  with¬ 
out  relenting.  This  is  the  true  key  to  Success.  The  war-cry 
should  be :  “  Equal  Rights  fior  All,  Special  Privileges  to  None.’^ 
“  Equality  before  the  Law.’’ 

Most  Sincerely  Yours, 

Stephen  Nicoletti. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  1896. 

From  among  the  thousands  of  letters  that  I  have  received,  I 
select  a  few  at  random,  not  having  space  to  insert  here  all  the 
kind  words  of  approval  addressed  to  me. 


aKNEKAI,  assembly 


tl  '.gt  TS  * 

»•;  -'x:-'  .  .1.  4"  •. 


8i4  NtjprH  Broad  5Tftcn,'RH»'>i>evp* *uA. 

•  -'‘V  'S'  .  •' 


. .. 

-  ■ 


'.James  M.  ktniAt 


Of-  M*S4AC^%»tTTJ,  *• 

■  ■  '  f.y  Phi  Lailolphit , 


fc..,  y.x-ch  21,  180C'. 


S-  'Captain'’ S .  Jlicoletti, 
192  Worth  St., 


New  York  City,  K.Y.  -  ,  '  ;  ' 

'  pe^Lr  .'Jir  and  Bro.tho8: — Heplyir)fT  to  yours  of  Uio 


ff-"' 

L'4v  .. 

,  I  air.  ploaoed-  to  say  that,  after  exeaiihiny'  your  hook 
I^Go'ld  Conspiracy”  7,  aw  fully  oorvincod  that  it  should  he  read  by 
J^the  workinc  people  of  this  entire  nation.  It  is  I’trll  ,of  pointed 
^jnatter  ,.  etvikfn.^  iULustrat  I.ons  'end ‘unin'.peao'nafc.le  feat?  end  you 
PiieserVe  the  con-jjratulations  of  all.,  reformers  for  fts  co.'-ipilatioh 
and  publication.  I  'nayo  not  nov/  in'.my  possession  co^py  of'  tho_, 
Irank  cfr.ciilar  to.  svh iclv  you  refer.  .  .  '  ■■  ■.  - 

Wishing  y^u  the  greatest  possible  measure  <?r  success  a:iid 
happiness,  I 


,?r 


DO  YOU  READ? 


Are  you  posted  on  the  money  question?  If  not,  you  will 

derive  in  this  book  the  study  of  a  lifetime  on  the  subject,  and  it 
will  put  you  in  a  position  where  you  can  give  points  to  the 
sound  (?),  fake  Financier  of  Ohio.  It  is  an  important  question, 
which  has  agitated  the  whole  world  since  its  beginning,  and  is 
put  so  plain  that  no  one  can  fail  to  understand  and  know  it 
thoroughly. 

TESTiivnoJsri^XjS. 


U.  S.  Senator  from  Cal. 

Chairman  of  Democratic  National  Convention. 


It  is  pronounced  by  all  intelligent  people  and  best  thinkers  to 
be  the  ablest  product  on  the  financial  question  of  any  modern 
literary  effort. 


INTRODUCTION 


Conscience,  humanity  and  experience  are  the  causes  for  the  writing  of  this 
book,  to  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  extravagance  and  corruption 
existing  for  many  years  in  our  general  government,  and  how  the  “Favored 
Few  ’  have  accumulated  millions,  while  the  masses  of  producers  have  been 
pauperized  by  special  laws  and  class  legislation,  passed  one  at  a  time  by  the 
money  power  tools  at  our  capital  (  Washington,  D.  C,  )  which  the  writer  will 
quote  and  any  one  can  satisfy  himself  by  investigating  them  and  verify  the 
assertion  and  truth  in  these  matters. 

For  this  condition  of  affairs  we  are  all  to  blame;  while  we  have  been 
neglecting  our  duties  as  citizens,  the  shrewd  Bankers  have  held  high  carnival 
and  with  their  potent  influence  of  money  for  “corrupt”  purposes  they  have 
established  the  gold  standard  against  the  wish  of  the  people,  who  now  com¬ 
mence  to  see  it,  and  the  writer  hopes  that  the  importance  of  this  book  will  be 
understood  by  the  intelligent  readers,  for  whom  I  have  the  highest  respect,  and 
I  know  they  have  not  the  time  to  read  long  books,  for  which  reason  I  make  this 
a  small  one  (Brevity)  as  their  time  is  valuable,  touching  lightly  upon  the  various 
and  most  important  laws  on  the  subject,  and  as  I  attack  the  monster  of  the 
land,  the  money  power  (or  the  interest),  the  most  important  question  that  has 
agitated  the  world,  and  it  domains,  this  free  land.  It  is  so  deeply  radicated 
that  it  seems  impossible  to  some  people  to  eradicate  it  without  a  war!  and  to 
cure  such  wrongs  that  keep  the  masses  of  the  people  slaves  to  King  Gold,  whom 
no  one  could  get  a  square  meal  out  of  if  he  had  all  the  gold  that  the  world 
possesses. 

He  must  go  and  till  the  land,  that  with  Labor  produces  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  it  is  the  basis  of  all  resources  and  values;  gold  and  silver,  etc.  comes 
from  the  land,  but  no  land  can  ever  come  from  gold.  You  can  easily  procure 
gold  by  having  land  if  you  choose  to  pay  the  Shylock-owners  interest  on  it.  If  it 
was  not  for  the  vicious  laws  that  have  been  passed,  gold  would  not  be  held  so 
high  as  money,  or  medium  of  exchange.  Silver  would  have  held  its  place  as  a 
money  metal,  which  it  has  been  for  a  long  time  past. 

Now  I  honestly  believe  in  a  currency  or  medium  of  exchange  based  on  the 
brain,  blood,  muscles  and  land,  or  the  wealth  of  the  whole  people  of  this 
great  land. 

A  paper  money.  Greenbacks,  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  or 
private ,  are  issued  by  the  Government  direct  to  the  people,  according  to  the 
necessity  and  demand.  Now,  a  money  with  the  above  backing  to  it  is  better 
than  gold  and  silver,  (for  it  includes  both  of  said  metals)  for  paper  money  has 
flourished  in  the  past,  and  has  twice  saved  this  great  Nation,  to  wit,  in  1812  and 
1861,  and  ancient  history  tells  us  that  when  past  nations  have  adopted  gold  as 
their  only  money  or  medium  of  exchange,  (that  we  must  have  to  facilitate 
commerce)  the  Shylock  owners  of  it  have  become  so  oppressive  and  tyrannical, 
that  the  people  have  revolted  and  destroyed  them,  and  civilization  with  them. 
Greece,  Persia,  Egypt  and  Rome  are  examples. 


Introduction. 


Now,  Venice  the  longest  republic  that  the  world  ever  saw,  and  perhaps 
never  to  be  equaled,  to  wit,  over  six  hundred  years,  from  1100  to  1797,  had  a 
paper  money  that  was  taken  at  a  premium  by  all  the  civilized  world,  and  the 
Republic  flourished  and  Venice  was  the  Queen  of  the  Sea  and  the  center  of 
commerce  until  Napoleon  entered  her  gates  and  took  down  that  paper  money 
and  replaced  it  with  coward  gold  money,  that  has  reduced  her  from  the  Queen 
of  the  Sea  and  the  center  of  commerce,  to  a  mere  museum  for  tourists  to  visit. 
Those  are  Examples  that  our  congressmen  can  And  out  in  our  public  libraries. 

It  will  not  be  very  long  before  England,  the  coarsest  Isle  of  the  world, 
with  her  octopus  gold  lords,  who  suck  the  blood  of  all  who  labor  to  pay  them 
the  interest  on  it,  will  have  her  turn  of  oblivion  as  a  Government,  that  is  trying, 
and  has  succeeded  in  dictating  our  Financial  System,  and  for  which  she  got  the 
beneflt  and  best  of  it. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

New  York,  Feb.  1895.  Capt.  S.  NICOLETTI. 


A  GOLD  CONSPIRACY. 


The  Money  or  Finance  question  has  been  written  on  before 
by  many  different  writers  and  financiers,  and  they  have  so 
complicated  the  question  about  grains  and  fineness,  that  it  is 
less  understood  by  the  common  people  than  any  other 
question,  and  the  shrewd  and  ‘‘cunning”  bankers  have  been 
always  planning  ahead  how  to  mislead  the  people  from 
knowing  how  things  are  being  conducted  by  them  in  such  an 
important  and  vital  question;  and  they  have,  and  still 
use,  the  “corrupt”  Press  to  their  advantage,  and  have 
succeeded  in  their  work,  so  that  they  now  get  the  crops  every 
time,  rain  or  shine,  or  get  the  farms,  which  is  the  case  seventy 
times  out  of  every  one  hundred.  They  have  had  laws  passed 
by  their  tools  in  both  branches  of  Congress  and  by  the 
President  also,  for  the  last  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  so  that 
they  can,  if  they  desire,  throw  the  country  into  a  financial 
panic  at  the  tick  of  a  telegram  or  by  secret  circulars,  as  they 
have  done  for  the  last  two  years,  and  in  the  past,  to  force 
legislation  in  their  favor,  and  they  still  persist  with  their 
schemes  until  they  have  accomplished  their  work,  which  is  to 
perpetuate  their  prey  of  usury  on  the  American  people,  to 
wit:  to  continue  and  keep  on  issuing  more  Government  bonds  ; 
that  is  their  intent,  and  they  have  already  secured  $100,000,000 
new  ones  last  year  with  promise  of  more  which  means  more 
interest  for  them  and  more  burdens  for  the  people.  They 
have  gone  too  far  and  must  be  stopped,  as  millions  of  people 
have  been  killed  and  starved  to  carry  out  their  schemes, 
which  are  fearlessly  shown  in  this  book,  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  true,  good  American  citizen  to  intelligently  act  and  use 
his  influence  towards  others  for  the  stopj^ing  of  the  present 
condition  of  affairs  that  have  been  for  the  benefit  of  bankers, 
as  the  present  and  other  administrations  have  done. 

Now  let  us  see  what  Money  is.  Money  is  a  representative 
of  labor  and  property  used  as  medium  of  exchange,  or  a 
circulating  medium.  If  it  is  a  circulating  medium  is  it 


12 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


right  to  lock  it  up?  iVb,  because  it  is  necessary  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  and  it  is  impossible  to  carry  property 
and  performed  labor  in  our  pockets  from  place  to  place. 

The  writer  claims  that  money  is  to  trades  and  commerce 
a  blood  running  through  their  channel  and  veins,  like  the 
circulation  of  blood  through  the  veins  and  channels  of 
a  person.  Now  if  the  blood  of  the  said  person,  does  not 
circulate  freely  as  the  regular  circulation  demands  it,  or  if 
it  becomes  scarce,  the  said  person  is  sure  to  become  sick  and 
he  quickly  goes  to  a  doctor  to  get  cured  from  the  disease 
and  improve  his  blood  system. 

And  if  money  does  not  circulate  freely  in  the  veins  and 
channels  of  commerce,  or  if  it  becomes  scarce  (the  little  that 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  few  will  increase  in  value  if  locked  up) 
commerce  and  business  will  become  sick  and  at  a  standstill, 
and  this  is  the  kind  of  sickness  that  our  country  is  suffering 
from  to-day  and  has  been  suffering  from  for  many  years,  for 
not  having  a  pure  and  perfect  Financial  system. 

The  doctors  to  cure  this  kind  of  sickness  are  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  D.  C.,  Congress,  Senate, and  the  President,  and  they 
are  sent  there  by  the  people  to  do  the  best  thing  that  is 
necessary  for  the  betterment  of  the  whole  people  of  our 
country,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  few  Gold  Bugs,  and 
the  Gold  Lords  of  England. 

The  said  doctors  ought  to  care  for  and  cure  the 
country  that  pays  them  for  it,  and  they  have  the  prescriptions 
and  the  medicine  there,  too,  if  they  only  use  it,  put  there  by 
better  doctors  than  they,  to  wit :  the  framers  of  our  Con¬ 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  which  says  in  Section  VIII  (8) 
Article  V  (5)  “Congress  has  power  to  coin  money  and  fix  the 
value  thereof,”  and  Senator  Yoorhees  of  Indiana,  Chairman 
of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  says  in  his  speech  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Sherman  Silver  purchasing  act:  that  Congress 
had  power  to  coin  money  and  fix  the  value  thereof,  and  also 
said  that  Congress  was  creator  of  money  and  fixed  the  value 
of  it,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  affirmed 
said  power  in  the  decision  of  the  case  of  August  D.  Jullard  vs. 
Thomas  S.  Greenman,  decided  March  3,  1884. 

The  court  held  that  under  the  Constitution  Congress  has  power,  if  it  deems  it 
expedient,  to  issue  legal  tender  notes  to  any  amount,  either  in  time  of  peace  or 
war.  For  this  decision,  see  United  States  Report,  No.  110,  Page  421. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


13 


In  rendering  this  decision,  the  court  reversed  two  prior  de¬ 
cisions,  in  which  the  court  stood  divided ;  but  in  this  case  deliv¬ 
ered  the  decision  written  by  Justice  Gray,  which  was  concurred 
in  by  eight  Judges,  only  Justice  Field  dissenting. 

This  decision  has  been  upheld  by  the  court  ever  since,  also  in 
many  States,  and  it  stands.  Where  can  a  plainer  and  more  con¬ 
clusive  language  than  the  one  which  the  court  used  be  found? 
The  present  administration  should  understand  this  and  instead 
of  issuing  bonds,  should  issue  legal  tender  notes  when  there  is 
need  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Government.  Why  don’t  they 
do  so?  Legal  tender  notes  are  a  non-interest  bearing  debt,  and 
bonds  are  an  interest  bearing  debt  that  enriches  the  bankers  and 
pauperizes  the  people,  because  the  bankers  want  the  interest,  and 
the  administration  gives  it. 

Coxey,  Kelly,  and  other’s  armies,  demanded  the  starting  of 
work  from  those  deaf  but  well-fed  doctors  at  our  employ  ; 
while  millions  of  producers  are  suffering  with  their  families, 
the  bankers’  tools  roll  in  luxury  at  the  people’ s  expense  at 
Washington,  and  instead  of  doing  their  duty  to  the  people, 
they  ffllibuster  and  halloo  to  stop  legislating  for  the  people 
and  their  country,  and  sometimes  they  go  and  have  good 
times  with  some  poor  innocent  girl,  even  if  they  are  married, 
and  then  they  teach  lies  about  morality,  as  we  all  have  read  of 
the  Pollard-Breckenridge  scandal,  and  who  knows  how  many 
more  are  doing  the  same  thing  and  it  is  kept  secret. 

We  can  settle  this  very  important  question  in  an  intel¬ 
ligent  way — that  is  by  the  discharging  of  those  doctors  from 
our  service  at  Election  Day,  by  electing  doctors  that  will  work 
and  work  for  the  people,  honest  men  and  not  lawyers ‘‘corrupt” 
millionaires,  and  politicians  that  do  not  know  what  hard  work 
is  ;  by  so  doing  we  will  save  our  country  and  our  institutions 
and  show  to  the  world  that  our  civilization  is  founded  and 
bound  to  reign  above  all  civilizations  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  American  citizen,  as  I 
said  before,  to  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and  push  for  the 
betterment  of  the  masses  and  quit  pushing  for  the  bankers 
that  are  hallooing  for  more,  more  bonds.  When  we  elect 
such  doctors  as  Washington,  Jefferson,  Jackson  or  Lincoln, 
no  money  power  can  use  them  and  none  like  them  have  been 
elected  to  the  presidential  chair  for  the  last  thirty  years. 


14 


A  Gold  Consj^hacy,  or 


The  History  of  Paper  Money  and  what  it  has  Accomplished 
IN  THE  Past  for  the  Good  of  this  Great  Country. 


FIRST  PAPER  MONEY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  first  paper  money,  or  treasury  notes,  issued  under  authority 
of  Congress,  was  during  the  war  against  England  in  1812.  The 
first  treasury  notes  were  issued  on  June  20th,  1812,  and  from  said 
date  to  February  24th,  1815,  sixty  million  and  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  were  issued,  bearing  interest  at  five  and  two-fifths 
per  cent,  per  annum,  and  they  were  a  full  legal  tender  for  all 
dues  to  the  government,  for  taxes  and  for  other  payments. 
Another  Act  was  passed  on  the  24th  of  February,  1815,  for  the 
additional  issue  of  twenty-five  millions,  and  all  the  notes  of  a 
denomination  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  upwards  bore  interest 
at  five  and  two-fifths  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  were  made  trans¬ 
ferable  by  endorsement,  and  those  notes  of  less  than  $100  bore  no 
interest  at  all  and  were  payable  to  bearer.  This  was  the  first 
Honest  Money  issued  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  which 
did  not  pay  interest  to  the  usurer. 

Thirteenth  Congress,  Sess.  III.,  Chap.  56,  Feb.  24th,  1815. 

An  Act  to  authorize  the  issuing  of  Treasury  notes  for  the  service  of  the  year, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  (a). 

Sec.  3.  And  ])e  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Treasury  notes  shall  he  pre¬ 
pared  of  such  denominations  as  the  secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  shall  from  time  to  time  direet  ;  and  such  of 
the  said  notes  as  shall  he  of  a  denomination  less  than  one  hundred  dollars,  shall  he 
payable  to  hearer,  and  he  transferable  by  delivery  alone,  and  shall  hear  no  interest ; 
and  such  of  the  said  notes  as  shall  be  of  the  denomination  of  one  hundred,  or 
upwards,  may  be  payable  to  order,  and  transferable  by  delivery  and  assignment, 
endorsed  on  the  same,  and  bearing  an  interest  from  the  day  on  which  they  shall  be 
issued,  at  the  rate  of  five  and  two-fifths  per  centum  per  annum  ;  or  they  may  be 
made  payable  to  bearer,  and  transferable  by  delivery  alone,  and  bearing  no  interest, 
as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  aj)probation  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  shall  direct. 

The  above  act  called  for  the  issue  of  $25,000,000.  These  notes 
were  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  as  the 
following  section  of  the  same  Act  shows : 

Sec.  6.  That  the  Treasury  notes  authorized  to  be  issued  by  this  Act,  shall  be 
everywhere  receivable  in  all  payments  to  the  United  States. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


15 


This  $25,000,000  of  paper  money  was  made  a  full  legal  tender 
for  all  debts  public  and  private,  it  was  issued  in  a  time  when 
the  country  was  in  need  because  then  this  country  was  at  war 
with  England,  which  with  a  flottilla  of  sixty  war  ships  had 
entered  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  captured  Washington  and  burned 
the  Capitol,  really  it  was  the  first  good  service  of  paper  money, 
and  an  example  which  ought  to  show  that  when  paper  money 
does  the  work  in  time  of  war  and  in  time  of  need  to  a  country, 
why  it  should  not  do  the  work  at  all  time  ? 

What  is  money  and  how  it  is  made  the  framers  of  our  Con¬ 
stitution  put  the  words  thus :  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
coin  money.”  The  words  ‘‘  coin  money  ”  was  intended  by  the 
framers  to  mean  make ;  then  comes  the  words  “  and  regulate  the 
value  thereof,”  which  was  intended,  and  it  is  the  law,  and  it 
does  not  make  a  particle  of  difference  of  what  material  money 
is  made  of.  A  dollar  is  what  the  law  of  the  United  States 
makes  a  dollar,  and  so  on  with  the  francs  of  France  and  Italy, 
and  the  pound  •  of  England,  etc.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
standard  of  value.  Supply  and  demand  in  open  market  makes 
prices,  so  it  is  the  laws  passed  that  make  gold  more  valuable. 
Demonetize  gold  or  do  not  use  it  as  money,  and  it  will  depre¬ 
ciate  in  value  as  a  commodity,  sure. 

Good,  honest  paper  money  always  does  the  work.  Now,  it  was 
with  that  money  that  our  forefathers  fought  against  the  oppressor 
octopus  that  was  annihilated  and  defeated  by  General  Jackson  at 
New  Orleans.  After  the  octopus  has  been  whipped  for  the  second 
time,  she  goes  to  work,  knowing  that  she  could  not  whip  us  by 
force,  but  proceeds  to  belittle  us  by  schemes,  and  is  succeeding  in 
doing  it  right  along  now-a-days ;  and  those  psuedo  or  false  Amer¬ 
ican  patriots  are  asleep  or  fail  to  wake  up  and  govern  their 
country  without  any  advice  from  England.  Are  they  observing 
the  wishes  and  orders  of  England,  or  what  are  they  doing  ? 

Now,  let  us  see  if  England  did  not  do  it,  as  she  is  doing  it 
now,  too ;  and  the  Gold  Conspiracy  of  1856  was  not  well  planned. 
Let  us  prove  it.  In  1857-58-59  they  commenced  the  tinkering 
with  the  Tariff  and  lessened  the  revenue  of  the  government. 

The  President  was  in  with  the  gang  and  depleting  the  treas- 
ury,  as  is  being  done  now.  While  the  Octopuses  missionaries — 
politicians,  etc. — were  at  work  with  the  North  and  the  South, 


16 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


the  slave  and  secession  questions  were  creating  sectional  hate, 
like  now  in  the  East,  the  South  and  West.  The  reader 
certainly  recollects  the  election  of  that  greatest  American 
that  ever  was  born.  Honest  Abe  Lincoln,  and  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  for  the  benefit  of  the  money 
sharks  of  Lombard  street,  London,  and  their  Wall  street, 
New  York,  associates.  Buchanan  had  dispatched  all  our 
navy  to  Southern  ports  and  not  a  cent  in  the  treasury ;  the 
South  had  been  instigated  and  promised  with  help,  and  did 
strike  the  blow.  The  country  was  declared  at  war.  Now^ 
we  all  know  that  war  means  money,  because  without  money 
[medium  of  exchange]  to  procure  the  necessaries  of  life  and 
ammunition  for  the  soldiers  to  fight  with,  you  could  not  fire  a 
gun  or  swing  a  sword.  Money  means  interest,  when  you 
have  to  borrow  it.  Interest  means  usury  and  usury  means 
the  final  enslavement  of  the  people— that  they  planned — no 
more  Southern  black  slaves  to  King  Cotton,  but 


NOR'rH  AND  SOUTH 

Blacks  and  Whites,  slaves  to  King  Hold.  The  firing  on 
Fort  Sumter  from  Fort  Morton  forced  President  Lincoln  to 
preserve  the  Union  and  not  to  divide  and  weaken  the  greatest 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  not  to  be  split  in  two  by 
the  Gold  Lords’  schemes  and  have  a  perpetual  feud  (so  the 
whipped  octopus  could  come  over  and  get  revenge)  and  so 
President  Lincoln  was  forced  to  ask  August  Belmont,  an 
octopus  or  Rothschild  defended  banker  of  New  York,  to 
negotiate  a  loan  for  the  government  from  the  Rothschilds. 
What  was  the  ‘‘Shylock’s”  answer?  If  he  gives  us  a  bond 
bearing  a  very  high  rate  of  interest,  payable  in  gold  interest 
and  capital,  and  the  bond  to  be  based  on  the  resources  of  the 
American  people  (which  were  and  are  yet  better  than  any 
gold,  but  the  Americans  do  not  know  that)  we  will  lend  him 
our  gold.  That  was  the  answer  sent  to  President  Lincoln, 
the  man  of  the  common  people  (too  honest  a  man  for  the 
rest)  that  refused  to  bond  the  country  in  a  time  of  need  and 
not  like  it  is  now,  bonding  it  in  a  time  of  no  need.  A  bond 
bearing  a  high  rate  of  interest  and  based  on  the  resources  of 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


17 


my  people!  No,  said  Lincoln,  we  will  issue  another  piece  of 
paper  and  call  it  treasury  notes  (or  greenbacks)  and  pay  no 
interest  at  all.  The  President  was  an  American  at  that  time, 
one  of  the  greatest  patriotic  Americans  ever  born  (he  was 
assassinated  for  the  lost  cause,  was  he?)  and  he  called  the 
attention  of  Congress  and  Senate  and  used  his  influence  to 
carry  out  the  words  and  meaning  of  our  Constitution, 
Section  YIII  (8)  Article  Y  (5),  and  on  July  17th,  1861,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  to  issue  50  millions 
of  dollars  of  treasury  notes  (same  money  as  in  1812-1815)  the 
best  and  most  honest  money  ever  issued,  that  saved  the  Union 
and  our  country  the  second  time  when  in  need,  and  paid  no 
interest  to  Shylocks,  and  after  it  was  made  a  full  legal  tender 
for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  on  March  17,  1862,  reached 
5  per  cent  premium  over  gold,  and  by  said  law  of  March  17, 
1862,  that  made  that  currency  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts, 
public  and  private,  the  Shylock  Bankers  of  Europe  were 
scared  to  death  and  commenced  hallooing  ‘‘Help’’  “au 
Secours,”  “Hilf”  “Help”  “Help.”  What  shall  become 


of  our  gold,  asking  the  Wall  street  Bankers  to  help  them,  as 
they  saw  Lincoln  was  coining  money  based  on  the  resources 


18 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


of  the  people  that  he  was  serving,  and  had  no  use  for  their  gold. 
Here  is  the  act  that  scared  them : 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  I.,  Chap.  5,  July  17,  1861 : 

An  Act  to  authorize  a  National  loan  and  for  other  purposes. 

Proviso,  post,  p.  313. 

The  last  four  lines  of  Section  1  of  said  Act  reads  as  follows : 

And,  provided  further,  That  no  Treasury  notes  shall  be  issued  of  less  denomi¬ 
nation  than  ten  dollars,  and  that  the  whole  amount  of  Treasury  notes,  not  hearing 
interest,  issued  under  authority  of  this  Act,  shall  not  exceed  fifty  millions  of 
dollars. 

Here  we  are  again  with  fifty  million  dollars  of  honest  money. 
The  usurers  of  Europe  called  on  their  Wall  Street  friends  to  stop 
this  and  the  latter  immediately  commenced  to  fix  things  for  the 
stopping  of  Lincoln’s  example. 

THEIR  FIRST  DIRTY  WORK. 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  I.,  Chap.  46,  Aug.  5,  1861 : 

An  Act  supplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled  ‘  ‘  An  Act  to  authorize  a  National 
loan  and  for  other  purposes.  ’  ’ 

That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasuary  is  hereby  authorized  to  issue  Ijonds  of  the 
United  States,  bearing  interest  at  six  per  centum  per  annum,  and  payable  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  United  Sates  after  twenty  years  from  date,  and  if  any  holder  of 
Treasury  notes,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  seven  and  three-tenths  per  centum, 
which  may  be  issued  under  authority  of  the  Act  to  authorize  a  National  loan  and 
for  other  purposes,  approved  July  seventeenth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
shall  desire  to  exchange  the  same  for  bonds,  the  Secretary  of  Treasury  may  at  any 
time  before  or  at  the  maturity  of  the  said  notes,  issue  to  said  holder  in  payment 
thereof  an  amount  of  said  bonds  equal  to  the  amount,  which  at  the  time  of  such 
payment  or  exchange,  may  be  due  on  said  Treasury  notes  ;  but  no  such  bonds 
shall  be  issued  for  a  less  sum  than  five  hundred  dollars,  nor  shall  the  whole 
amount  of  such  bonds  exceed  the  whole  amount  of  Treasury  notes  not  Ijearing 
seven  and  three-tenths  per  centum  interest,  issued  under  said  Act ;  and  any  part 
of  the  Treasury  notes  payable  on  demand  authorized  by  said  Act,  may  be  made 
payable  by  the  Assistant  Treasurer  at  St.  Louis,  or  depositories  at  Cincinnati. 

Who  would,  as  a  matter  of  business,  exchange  notes  drawing 
7  and  3-lOths  per  cent,  interest  for  bonds  drawing  6  per  cent, 
interest?  Would  you?  Of  course  not.  This  act  was  intended 
and  aimed  at  other  game.  The  object  being  to  collect  the 
$50,000,000  of  non-interest  bearing  demand  notes  (issued  under 
prior  act,  July  17,  1861),  from  the  old  soldiers  and  other  citizens, 
and  convert  them  into  interest  hearing  bonds.  The  money-changers’ 
Agents  were  collecting  the  demand  notes,  and  for  this  reason,  they 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


19 


had  this  supplementary  act  passed.  Furthermore,  you  will  notice 
that  no  bonds  were  to  be  issued  for  less  amounts  than  $500. 
Why  ?  Because  it  was  to  deprive  the  people  with  less  amounts 
of  money  than  $500  from  obtaining  any  Bonds,  and  thereby  be 
prevented  from  drawing  interest,  also  to  give  the  bankers  the 
monopoly  of  exchanging  the  ?i07i-interest  bearing  demand  notes 
for  interest  bearing  bonds.  Was  it  not  a  great  money-making 
scheme  to  start  with  ?  How  many  old  soldiers  could  invest  $500 
in  bonds  ?  The  above  demand  notes  were  full  legal  tender  for  all 
dues. 

Sec.  5.  And  be  further  enacted,  That  the  Treasury  notes  (authorized  by  the 
Act  to  which  this  is  supplementary )  of  a  less  denomination  than  fifty  dollars,  pay¬ 
able  on  demand,  without  interest,  and  not  exceeding  in  amount  the  sum  of  fifty 
millions  of  dollars,  shall  be  receivable  in  payment  of  all  dues. 

Another  step  taken  by  the  conspirators  to  carry  out  their 
plans  to  control  the  currency  of  the  country  was  to  induce  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  recommend  the  passage  of  the 
National  Banking  Act. 

In  December,  1861,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  in  his  annual  report  advocated  a  hybrid  bill  for  the 
issuing  of  National  Bank-notes,  secured  by  a  pledge  of  United 
States  stocks,  to  take  the  place  of  State  currency.  He  claimed  it 
would  create  a  currency  of  uniform  value  and  diminish  exchange 
and  distribute  the  money  so  as  to  avoid  monopoly. 

The  President  was  opposed  to  the  Secretary’s  plan,  so  no  effort 
was  made  for  the  time  being,  to  frame  a  bill  carrying  out  the 
Secretarv’s  above  recommendation. 

The  conspirators  then  changed  their  plans  and  induced  the  State 
banks  to  suspend  specie  payment,  which  the  latter  did  on  Dec.  31, 
1861,  and  by  such  suspension  and  the  distressed  financial  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  country  forced  a  change  and  a  new  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  administration,  and  the  bankers  having  secured  the 
services  of  Secretary  Chase,  the  Secretary  asked  Congressman 
Spaulding  of  New  York  to  present  a  National  Bank  Bill  in  Con¬ 
gress,  but  such  was  the  opposition  to  it  that  it  never  was’  reported 
by  the  committee  to  whom  it  was  referred  in  1862.  Three  hun¬ 
dred  millions  of  treasury  notes  were  authorized  to  be  issued; 
these  were  made  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  except  government 
duties  (the  exception  clause  scheme  that  you  will  see  the  result 
of  further  on  in  this  book). 


20 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


TEN  MILLIONS  MORE  OF  HONEST  MONEY  ISSUED. 

Thirty -seventh  Congress,  Sess.  II.,  Chap.  20,  Feb.  12,  1862 : 

An  Act  to  authorize  an  additional  is.sue  of  United  State.s  Treasury  notes. 
That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  addition  to  the  fifty  millions  of  notes  i)ay- 
able  on  demand,  of  the  denomination  not  less  than  five  dollars,  heretofore  author¬ 
ized  by  Acts  of  July  seventeen  and  August  fifth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  issue  like  notes,  and  for  like  purposes,  to  the 
amount  of  ten  million  dollars,  and  said  notes  shall  be  deemed  part  of  the  loan  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  Approved  Feb.  12,  1862. 

NOW  COMES  THE  MOST  DISHONEST  ACT 

ever  passed  by  the  representatives  of  this  government,  an  act 
which  shows  on  its  face  the  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  against  its  people,  an  Act  passed  for  the  purpose  of  obtain¬ 
ing  the  products  of  the  people’s  labor  with  a  dishonest  currency. 
(Obtaining  goods  under  false  pretences.)  An  Act,  the  effect  of 
which  was  to  give  the  law-protected  usurers  the  opportunity  of 
becoming  millionairs  out  of  the  cruel  war,  planned,  started  and 
prolonged  by  the  shylock  usurers  of  the  world. 

To  think  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passing  an 
Act  for  the  issuing  of  dishonest  money  (depreciated  currency), 
to  take  up  and  retire  the  honest  money  (full  legal  tender  notes). 
This  seems  impossible,  but  nevertheless  it  is  true.  Oh,  corrupt ! 
venal !  fraudulent  deceivers  of  represenatives  of  a  government 
of  the  people,  for  the  people  and  by  the  people,  passing  a  law  to 
depreciate  its  own  money  by  refusing  to  accept  it  back  in  pay¬ 
ment  of  duties. 

(The  exception  clause  on  the  Government  Treasury  notes,  or 
more  correctly  speaking,  the  greenbacks.)  This  law  was  passed  for 
the  benefit  of  the  shylocks  who  were  too  cowardly  to  risk  their 
miserable  carcasses  on  the  field  of  battle. 

This  law  gave  these  stay-at-home  Shylocks  and  Usurers  the 
opportunity  to  purchase  the  Greenbacks  at  50  cents  on  the  dol¬ 
lar,  and  then  (being  allowed  by  a  prior  act)  to  convert  these 
greenbacks  into  interest-bearing  bonds  (mortgages  on  the  whole 
people),  and  thereby  further  enrich  themselves. 

Following  is  the  Act  which  put  the  dishonest  exception  clause 
on  the  greenbacks  (thereby  causing  them  to  fall  in  value  to  50 
cents  on  the  dollar).  The  soldier  received  these  greenbacks  as 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


21 


his  pay  for  risking  his  life  on  the  battle-field,  then  he  had  to  dis¬ 
count  them  to  the  banker,  who  changed  these  non-interest  bear¬ 
ing  greenbacks  into  interest  bearing  bonds,  the  latter  at  the  same 
time  receiving  the  double  profit  of  being  paid  100  cents  on  the 
dollar,  besides  the  premium  on  the  bonds  when  they  were 
redeemed  by  the  government,  also  a  big  interest  on  the  bonds  for 
many  years.  Which  is  it  more  profitable  to  be,  a  patriotic 
Soldier,  or  a  stay-at-home  Shylock  ?  Which  one  does  the  gov¬ 
ernment  take  the  most  care  of?  To  one  it  gives  a  few  dollars  a 
month  pension,  to  the  other,  millions  of  money,  as  interest  and 
premium  on  bonds. 


HEKE  IS. THE  ACT. 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  II.,  Chap.  33,  Feb.  25th,  1862: 

• 

All  Act  to  authorize  the  issue  of  United  States  Notes,  and  for  the  redemption  or 
funding  thereof  of  the  floating  debt  of  the  United  States. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby 
authorized  to  issue,  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  one  hundred  and  fifty  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars  of  United  States  notes  liot  bearing  interest,  and  of  such  denomina¬ 
tions  as  he  may  deem  expedient,  not  less  than  five  dollars  each.  Provided^  however, 
that  fifty  millions  of  said  notes  shall  be  in  lieu  of  the  demand  treasury  notes,  authorized 
to  be  issued  by  the  act  of  July  seventeen,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty  one,  which  said 
demand  notes  shall  be  taken  up  as  rapidly  as  practicable,  and  the  notes  herein  provided 
for  substituted  for  them,  and  provided  further.  That  the  amount  of  the  two  kinds  of 
notes  together  shall  at  no  time  exceed  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  dollars,  and  such  notes  herein  authorized  shall  be  receivable  in  payment  of  all 
taxes,  internal  duties,  excises,  debts  and  demand  of  every  kind  due  to  the  United 
States.  Except  duties  on  imports  and  all  claims  and  demands  against  the  United 
States  of  every  kind  v^hatsoever,  except  for  interest  upon  the  bonds  and  notes,  which 
shall  be  paid  in  coin,  and  shall  also  be  lawful  money  and  a  legal  tender  in  payment 
of  all  debts  public  and  private  within  the  United  States,  except  duties  on  imports  and 
interest  aforesaid'.  And  that  holder  of  said  United  States  notes  depositing  any  sum 
not  less  than  fifty  dollars,  or  some  multiple  of  fifty  dollars,  wdth  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  or  either  of  the  Assistant  Treasurers,  shall  receive  in  exchange 
therefor  duplicate  certificates  of  deposit,  one  of  which  may  be  transmitted  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  shall  thereupon  issue  to  the  holder  an  equal  amount  of 
bonds  of  the  United  States,  coupon  or  registered,  as  may  he,  by  said  holder,  be  de¬ 
sired,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable  semi  annually, 
and  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  United  States  after  five  years,  and  payable 
twenty  years  from  the  date  thereof,  and  such  United  States  notes  shall  be  received 
the  same  as  coin,  at  the  par  value  in  payment  for  any  loans  that  may  be  hereafter 
sold  or  negotiated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  may  be  re-issued  from 
time  to  time  as  the  exigencies  of  the  public  interest  shall  require. 


22 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


Lincoln  was  compelled  to  approve  this  Act,  because  he  wanted 
to  end  the  rebellion  and  stop  a  murderous  war.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  Salmon  P.  Chase  and  all  the  Bankers  used  their 
influence  with  Lincoln,  telling  him  that  this  was  the  only  way  to 
make  the  foreign  importers  pay  their  duties  in  Gold. 

You  will  notice  that  ^50,000,000  of  those  notes  with  the 
exception  clause  on  them,  were  to  take  up  and  retire  the  green¬ 
backs  which  had  no  exception  clause  on,  thereby  putting  the 
merchants  and  citizens  who  had  to  pay  duties  on  imports  at  the 
mercy  of  the  gold  bugs,  who  charged  extortionate  premiums  for 
their  gold.  The  merchants  and  citizens  were  forced  to  accept 
these  greenbacks  in  payment  for  their  goods  or  labor,  as  they  were 
made  legal  tender  for  any  claim  against  the  government ;  also 
being  lawful  money  and  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and 
private,  except  duties  on  imports  and  interest  on  bonds.  A  con¬ 
tinual  chain  was  thus  formed  for  the  re-issue  of  these  notes.  The 
government  paying  them  to  the  soldiers  and  citizens  in  settle¬ 
ment  of  claims  against  it,  and  they  in  turn  being  compelled  to 
discount  them  to  the  gold  banker,  who  got  the  government  to 
change  these  greenbacks  into  interest  bearing  bonds.  This  inter¬ 
est  was  payable  every  six  months  in  coin,  which  gave  the  bankers 
the  chance  of  getting  the  gold  back  again,  thus  keeping  in 
motion  the  greatest  robbing  scheme  ever  conceived  by  the  brain 
of  man,  and  they  keep  it  in  motion  at  the  present  time,  as  the 
exception  clause  yet  remains  on  the  greenbacks,  bank  notes,  etc. 
No  wonder  that  the  bankers  became  millionaires !  And  they 
intend  to  grow  richer  and  richer  by  continuing  in  the  future  this 
scheme  of  making  the  people  pay  extortionate  premium  on  gold. 
How  long  ?  Oh !  how  long  will  it  be  before  the  great  and  in¬ 
telligent  (?)  people  of  America,  wake  up  from  their  dreams  and 
realize  how  they  are  robbed. 

Sec.  2.  Same  Act. 

And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  fund  the 
Treasury  notes  and  floating  debt  of  the  United  States,  he  is  hereby  authorized  to 
issue,  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  coupon  bonds,  or  registered  bonds  to  an 
amount  not  exceeding  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  redeemable  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  United  States  after  five  years,  and  payable  twenty  years  from  date  and  bear¬ 
ing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable  semi-annually,  and 
the  bonds  herein  authorized  shall  be  of  such  denominations,  not  less  than  fifty 
dollars,  as  may  be  determined  upon  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  Sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Treasury  may  dispose  of  such  bonds  at  any  time,  at  the  market  value 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


23 


thereof,  for  coin  of  the  United  States,  or  for  any  Treasury  notes  that  have  been  or 
may  hereafter  be  issued  under  any  former  Act  of  Congress,  or  for  United  States 
notes  that  may  be  issued  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  all  stocks,  bonds 
and  other  securities  of  the  United  States  held  by  individuals,  corporations  or  asso¬ 
ciations  within  the  United  States  shall  be  exempt  frr*’n  taxation  by  or  under  State’s 
authority. 


BANKER 
SELLING 
THE  GOLD 


PERSON 
WHO  PAYS 
THE  DUTIES 
m  GOLD 


How  the  Exception  Clause  on  the  currency  worked  during  the  War  and  works  now. 
It  takes  six  months  for  the  Gold  to  get  back  to  the  Banker  again  by 
*  the  continuous  chain  scheme. 


You  see  that  no  taxes  are  paid  by  the  Bond-holder  on  their 
bonds,  and  the  Bond  Sharks  are  now  growling  at  the  Silver 
Lunatics  (?)  because  the  latter  want  silver  remonetized  so  that  the 
government  will  find  it  easier  to  pay  the  bonds  and  lighten  the  peo¬ 
ple’s  burden  ;  saying  that,  “  they  want  to  ruin  the  country.” 
Touch  a  man’s  pocket-book  and  he  will  squeal.  By  the  fore¬ 
going  Act  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  robbed  of  two 


24 


A  Gold  Conspikacy,  or 


billions,  one  hundred  and  ten  millions  of  dollars ;  or,  in  other  words, 
the  farmers  and  laboring  people  of  this  country  paid  to  the 
bankers  $2,110,000,000  as  interest  on  an  original  debt  of  $500,- 
000,000,  or  more  than  four  times  as  much  interest  than  what 
the  principal  amounted  to. 

See  illustration  of  farmer,  storekeeper  and  banker.  You 
can  figure  it  out  yourself. 

Following  is  an  Act,  passed  by  the  tools  of  the  money¬ 
lenders,  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  purchase 
coin  with  any  of  the  bonds,  or  other  notes  of  the  United  States. 
This  is  the  Act  which  King  (?)  Grover  the  First !  (elected  as  Presi¬ 
dent),  had  his  J.  G.  Carlisle  quote  as  authorit}^  for  the  issue  of 
the  $62,500,000  bonds,  of  February,  1895,  using  the  proceeds  of 
the  same  to  pay  the  current  expenses  of  the  government,  not 
knowing  that  there  is  an  Act  on  the  Statute  Books  of  the  United 
States,  approved  April  13,  1866,  forbidding  the  increase  of  the 
public  debt : 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  II.,  Chap.  45,  March  17,  1862  : 

An  Act  to  authorize  the  purchase  of  coin  and  for  other  purposes. 

Sec.  1.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  purchase  coin  with  any  of  the 
bonds  or  notes  of  the  United  States  authorized  by  law,  at  such  rates  and  upon  such 
terms  as  he  deems  most  advantageous  to  the  public  interest ;  and  may  issue,  under 
such  rules  and  regulations  as  he  may  prescribe,  certificates  of  indebtedness,  such  as 
are  authorized  by  an  Act  entitled  :  ‘  ‘  An  Act  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  the 

Treasury  to  issue  certificates  of  indebtedness  to  public  creditors.”  Approved 
March  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  to  such  creditors  as  may  desire  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  same. 

Demand  notes  made  a  full  legal-tender  for  all  purposes,  by 
Section  two  of  this  Act.  , 

Sec.  2.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  the  demand  notes  authorized  by  the 
Act  of  July  seventeen,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  and  by  the  Act  of  Feb¬ 
ruary  twelfth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  shall,  in  addition  to  being  receivable 
in  payment  of  duties  on  imports,  he  receivable  and  shall  he  lawful  money  and  a 
legal  tender,  in  like  manner  and  for  the  same  puipo.ses,  and  to  the  same  extent,  as 
the  notes  authorized  by  an  Act  entitled,  “An  Act  to  authorize  the  issue  of  United 
States  notes,  and  for  the  redemption  or  funding  thereof,  and  for  funding  the  float¬ 
ing  debt  of  the  United  States.”  Approved  February  twenty-fifth,  eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-two. 

By  the  Act  just  quoted  the  $60,000,000  of  demand  notes, 
issued  under  the  two  former  Acts,  were  made  a  full  legal  tender 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


25 


for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  duties  on  imports,  interest  on 
the  public  debt  (Honest  Money).  They  were  appreciated  in  value 
and  went  to  a  premium  of  five  per  cent,  above  gold. 

Why  did  not  Congress  make -all  the  notes  full  legal  tender? 
If  it  had  done  so,  no  interest  bearing  bonds  would  have  been 
necessary,  and  no  robbery  of  the  people  committed. 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  II.,  July  11,  18G2 : 

Authorizing  the  issue  of  $150,000,000  Treasury  notes  not  bearing  interest. 

Was  there  a  Gold  Conspiracy  or  not  ? 

Now,  let  us  see  ;  it  was  that  paper  money,  and  not  coward 
gold  that  runs  away  in  time  of  need,  that  was  paid  to  the  soldiers 
fighting  to  save  the  Union  on  the  battlefields,  and  the  reader 
will  certainly  recollect  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Summer  of 
1862,  the  South  was  nearly  whipped,  as  the  Monitor  had  sunk 
the  Merrimac,  and  General  Grant  had  captured  Fort  Donaldson, 
and  the  Civil  War  would  have  surely  come  to  an  end  if  it  were 
not  for  the  Shylock  money  lenders  of  Lombard  street,  London, 
and  Wall  street,  N.  Y.,  that  were  working  to  have  it  prolonged, 
so  as  to  get  their  work  in.  Let  us  follow  the  result.  The  cop¬ 
perhead  element  was  interfering  and  holding  the  hands  of  the 
President  to  prolong  the  war,  and  that  was  what  the  Bankers 
wanted  to  work ;  that  eventful  Fall  Election  for  Congressmen 
was  held,  and  now  you  see  the  greatest  Italian  hand  ever  played 
in  the  history  of  this  country  during  that  eventful  Fall  Elec¬ 
tion.  The  Bankers  carried  their  plan  by  electing  their  tools  to 
prolong  the  war,  also  had  the  outgoing  Congressmen  so  scared 
or  fixed  that  they  passed  the  vicious  National  Banking  Law, 
which  had  failed  to  be  passed  before. 

As  soon  as  this  Congress  met  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
and  all  the  Bankers’  lobbyists  commenced  to  work  to  secure  the 
passage  of  a  law  which  is  so  partial  and  that  gives  a  certain 
class  of  citizens  (the  rich  and  moneyed  citizens)  the  advantage 
over  other  poor  citizens,  just  as  good  or  even  better,  for  that 
matter,  because  the  writer  considers  the  farmer  and  producers 
the  backbone  of  any  country.  Suppose  the  latter  would  stop 
seeding,  where  would  the  Bankers  and  the  country  be  ? 

Let  us  observe  the  result ! 


26 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


In  Dec.,  1862,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (same  Chase) 
in  his  report  of  said  date,  again  called  attention  to  his 
National  Bank  scheme,  and  called  attention  to  the  danger 
arising  from  the  issue  of  United  States  notes  and  claimed 
great  advantages  by  using  the  National  Bank  notes,  the 
bankers  having  had  plenty  of  time  to  fix  things  had  Congress 
interested  and  took  up  the  Spaulding  Bill  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  Now  the  bankers  did  not  like  the  Spaulding 
Bill  in  the  shape  it  was,  and  engaged  Senator  Sherman, 
“Honest  John”  of  Ohio,  whom  they  retained  for  a  long 
while  (and  may  have  him  yet)  to  amend  the  bill  introduced 
in  the  House,  and  on  Jan.  26th,  1863,  in  the  Senate,  Mr. 
Sherman  asked  and  by  unanimous  consent  obtained  leave  to 
bring  in  a  Bill  (S.  No.  486)  to  provide  a  National  currency 
secured  by  a  pledge  of  the  United  States  stocks  and  to 
provide  for  the  circulation  and  redemption  thereof,  which 
was  read  twice  by  its  title. 

Mr.  Sherman  “I  will  state  with  the  leave  of  the  Senate 
that  there  are  some  features  of  the  Bill  a  ‘  little  ’  different 
from  the  Bill  introduced  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  I 
do  not  know  that  it  is  necessary  to  print  it  until  it  is  reported 
back  from  the  Committee  of  Finance,  but  at  the  suggestion  of 
some  Senators,  I  will  move  that  it  be  printed  and  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Finance.”  The  Bill  was  ordered  printed 
and  referred  to  the  Committee,  and  Mr.  Sherman,  watched 
carefully,  and  debated  hours  and  hours  for  his  Bill.  (See 
Sherman’s  remarks  on  Currency,  Congressional  Records 
pages  505,  666,  703,  820,  840,  869,  1155,  1235,  1237,  1306, 
it  will  astonish  you  the  fight  he  made  for  this  Bill)  and  finally 
came  to  a  vote  in  the  Senate  on  Feb.  12, 1863,  and  was  passed 
by  a  small  majority.  Senator  Trumbull  of  Illinois  a  Repub¬ 
lican  and  a  friend  of  Lincoln  and  Grimes  of  la.  fought  it  to 
the  last. 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  Sess.  III.,  Chap.  58,  Feb.  25,  1863 : 

An  Act  to  provide  a  National  currency,  secured  by  a  pledge  of  United  States 
stocks,  and  to  provide  for  the  circulation  and  redemption  thereof.  That  there 
shall  be  established  in  the  Treasury  Department  a  separate  bureau,  which  shall  be 
charged  with  the  execution  of  this  law,  and  all  other  laws  that  may  be  passed  by 
Congress  respecting  the  issue  and  regulation  of  a  National  currency  secured  by 
United  States  bonds.  The  chief  officer  of  said  bureau  shall  be  denominated  the 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


27 


Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  and  shall  be  under  the  general  direction  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  on  the  nomina¬ 
tion  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate  and  shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  five  years,  unless  removed  by  the 
President  by  and  with  the  consent  of  Senate. 

This  first  section  continues  in  regard  to  the  comptroller’s 
duties,  which  it  is  not  material  to  publish  here.  The  following 
are  the  most  important  sections  of  the  National  Banking  Act. 

United  States  Bonds”  to  mean  what? 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  enacted,  that  the  term  “  United  States  Bonds  ”  as  used  in 
this  Act,  shall  be  construed  to  mean  all  coupon  and  registered  bonds  now  issued  or 
that  may  hereafter  be  issued  on  the  faith  of  the  United  States  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  in  pursuance  of  law. 

Sec.  5.  That  associations  for  carrying  on  the  business  of  banking  may  be 
formed  by  any  number  of  persons  ;  not  less  in  any  case  than  five. 

Sec.  6.  That  persons  uniting  to  form  such  an  association,  shall,  under  their 
hand  and  seal,  make  certificate  which  shall  specify — 

First. — The  name  assumed  by  such  association. 

Second. — The  place  where  its  operations  of  discount  and  deposit  are  to  be  car¬ 
ried  on  ;  designating  the  State,  Territory  or  District,  and  also  the  particular  city, 
town  or  village. 

Third. — The  amount  of  its  capital  stock  and  the  number  of  shares  into  which 
the  same  shall  be  divided  ;  which  capital  stock  shall  not  be  less  than  fifty  thousand 
dollars  ;  and  in  cities  whose  population  is  over  ten  thousand  persons,  the  capital 
stock  shall  not  be  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

According  to  this  last  section  it  proves  that  this  law  was 
passed  to  enable  the  rich  to  have  a  monopoly  of  the  hanking 
business.  How  many  old  soldiers  or  citizens  were  or  are  able  to 
raise  even  the  minimum,  $50,000,  in  order  to  start  a  National 
Bank.  As  that  amount  is  still  the  limit  fixed  by  the  law,  who 
gets  the  benefit  of  the  law,  the  masses  of  the  people  or  the  rich 
classes?  The  mercenary  editors  of  the  great  dailies,  owned 
body,  soul  and  conscience  by  this  latter  class,  dare  not  tell  the 
truth  or  disclose  this  gigantic  robbery  of  the  people,  committed 
by  the  law-protected  banking  brigands.  This  banking  system 
threatens  the  destruction  of  this  American  Republic. 

Sec.  15.  That  every  association,  after  having  complied  with  the  provisions 
of  this  Act,  preliminary  to  the  commencement  of  the  banking  business  under 
these  provisions,  shall  transfer  and  deliver  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States 
any  United  States  bonds  bearing  interest  to  an  amount  not  less  than  one- third  of 
the  capital  stock  paid  in  ;  which  bonds  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  and  by  him  safely  kept  in  his  office  until  the  same  shall  be  other¬ 
wise  disposed  of,  in  pursuance  of  the  provision  of  this  Act. 


28 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


You  see  the  kindness  of  the  law-makers  towards  the  rich 
bond-holding  bankers.  Tliey  built  them  great  vaults  and  safe 
deposits,  so  that  they  can  keep  their  bonds,  guarded  at  public 
expense  from  thieves,  fire  or  water,  and  the  government  does  not 
charge  them  a  cent  for  taking  care  of  them.'  Blessed  are  the 
rich,  for  they  shall  own  tlie  eartli  and  everybody  on  it. 

Sec.  16.  That  upon  the  making  of  any  such  transfer  and  delivery,  the  asso¬ 
ciation  making  the  same  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  Comi)troller  of  the 
Currency,  circulating  notes  of  different  denominations  in  blank,  registered  and 
countersigned  as  hereinafter  provided,  equal  in  amount  to  ninety  per  centum  of 
the  current  market  value  of  the  United  States  bonds,  so  transferred  and  delivered, 
but  not  exceeding  the  par  value  thereof  if  bearing  .interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
centum. 


Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  business  man  who,  paying  interest  on 
his  debts,  allows  his  creditor  to  issue  90  per  cent,  more  notes  of 
credit,  based  upon  the  strength  of  the  first  man’s  debts,  so  that 
the  aforesaid  creditor  could  lend  these  notes  back  to  the  debtor 
(or  other  persons),  and  thereby  get  more  interest  out  of  the 
debtor.  Well!  he  was  crazy,  if  you  ever  did  hear  of  him? 
That,  though,  is  exactly  what  the  intelligent  (?)  law-makers 
allowed  the  hankers  to  do  when  they  passed  the  National  Banking 
Act.  Yet  the  Republican  party  calls  this  sound  financiering, 
and  the  father  of  the  Act  they  call  Honest  John.  That  Act  has 
created  millionairs  and  tramps.  How  many  of  each  you  can 
best  judge  for  yourself.  The  people  have  paid  millions  of 
dollars  interest  on  bonds  during  the  past  thirty-three  years,  and 
are  still  paying  interest.  Issuing  money  on  the  strength  of  debts 
is  the  last  thing  that  any  one  ever  expected  to  hear  of,  but  such 
is  the  case  with  the  United  States  of  America. 

What  great  political  economists  and  financiers  (for  their  own 
pockets),  these  American  law-makers  were. 

Here  is  the  vote  on  this  bill : 

Yeas. 

Messrs.  Anthony,  Arnold,  Chandler,  Clark,  Dolittle, 
Fessenden,  Foster,  tiarding,  Harlan,  Harris,  Howard,  Howe, 
Lane  of  Kansas,  Morril,  Nesmith,  Pomeroy,  “  Sherman,'' 


The  Woest  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


29 


Sumner,  Ten  Eyek,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  Wilniot,  and  Wilson 
of  Massachusetts  (23). 


Nays. 

• 

Messrs.  Carlisle,  Collamer,  Cowan,  Davis,  Dixon,  Foot, 
Grimes,  Henderson,  Hiks,  Kennedy,  King,  Latham, 
McDougall,  Powel,  Rice,  Richards,  Saulsbury,  Trumbul, 
Turpie,  Wall,  and  Wilson  of  Missouri  (21).  So  the  Bill  was 
passed.  The#President  signed  it  Feb.  25th,  1863  (as  Chase 
had  said  to  him  that  he  would  resign  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  within  two  hours  if  the  President  would  veto  the 
Bill).  This  is  what  is  called  the  National  Banking  Law,  but 
another  Act  was  passed  on  June  3rd,  1864,  creating  National 
Banks,  the  latter  being  a  substitute  act. 

Now  is  this  a  country  of  equal  rights  to  all  and  privilege 
to  none  ? 

Let  us  see !  According  to  the  above  laws  a  National 
Banker  can  go  and  buy  a  bond,  say  of  $100,000,  pay  for  it  in 
gold,  then  take  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  deposit 
and  receive  $90,000  in  greenbacks,  or  authority  to  issue 
$90,000  in  bank  notes  Just  as  good  as  gold  to  buy  anything 
with.  Now  how  much  does  it  leave  that  the  banker 
invested  ?  Only  $10,000,  and  he  gets  interest  on  $100, 000  and 
pays  no  tax,  as  the  law  says  that  government  bonds  are  non- 
taxable.  Then  he  lends  the  $90,000,  say  at  10  per  cent,  and 
in  a  year  he  has  again  $100,000  to  buy  another  bond,  you 
know,  and  so  on  to  get  interest  on  what  they  owe. 

Let  us  see  how  it  works  on  another  citizen  or  set  of 
citizens.  He  can  go  and  buy  a  bond,  say  of  $100,000  (if  the 
administration  does  not  do  as  it  did  with  the  Stewart  &  Co. 
trust — all  $50,000,000  or  none)  then  he  takes  that  bond  to 
Uncle  Sam’s,  Treasury  for  dej)osit  and  asks  for  the  $90,000 
that  the  banker  got  for  his  bond.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  says  to  him  ‘Wou  must  be  a  National  Banker.” 
The  citizen  gets  excited  and  tells  Uncle  Sam  that  this  is  a 
country  of  equal  rights  to  all  and  privilege  to  none,  and  he 
has  to  have  the  $90,000  as  he  needs  the  amount  to  help  to 
carry  out  his  enterprise.  Uncle  Sam  says  to  him  that  he 
would  like  to  accommodate  him  but  he  cannot  do  it  as  the 


30 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


Law  of  Feb.  25th,  1863,  stops  him.  The  citizen  gets  angry  and 
says  that  Law  is  a  Steel  Trap,  with  accent  on  the  “  Steel’ ^ 
to  catch  us  in.  Uncle  Sam  gets  mad  and  says  “What, 
sir,  it  is  your  own  fault,  you  have  been  sending  men  here  to 
legislate  for  you  for  the  last  twenty-live  or  thirty  years,  and 
they  are  ruining  my  farms  and  taking  all  my  products  to 
Europe  for  nothing,  but  I  tell  you  that  I  am  here  to  fulfil  the 
law,”  and  hands  him  the  law.  Now,  no  matter  what  the  other 
citizen  would  do  with  the  $90, 000  if  he  got  it — start  a  factory 
or  plantation,  or  improve  his  property  so  that  it  would 
furnish  labor  and  increase  wealth  in  the  country,  he  has  to 
invest  $100,000,  while  the  banker  only  has  to  invest  $10,000. 
Is  that  law  that  “Honest  John”  introduced  and  passed. 
Just?  No!  certainly  not. 


National  Banking  law  and  how  it  works.  One  gets  greenbacks 

the  other  the  Law. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


31 


WHAT  A  NATIONAL  BANKER  CAN  DO. 

Here  is  what  a  national  banker  can  do  with  $150,000  in  gold. 
First,  he  buys  $100,000  worth  of  bonds,  then  deposits  the  bonds 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  receives  $90,000  in  national 
bank  notes.  With  these  he  buys  products  of  labor  (cotton,  corn 
or  wheat)  and  then  sells  the  latter  in  Europe  for  gold.  With 
this  gold  and  $10,000  of  the  $50,000  he  buys  another  $100,000 
bond,  takes  out  more  bank  notes,  etc.  He  repeats  this  operation 
five  times,  when  the  $50,000  is  all  used.  The  banker  will  then, 
by  these  operations,  be  the  owner  of  ^a  half  million  of  untaxable 
interest-bearing  bonds ;  he  will  also  be  the  possessor  of  $90,000  in 
bank  notes,  and  it  is  possible  for  the  national  banker  to  keep  doing 
this  as  long  as  the  Government  continues  to  issue  bonds.  You  will 
observe  that  the  national  banker,  by  the  above  operations, 
increased  his  wealth  $440,000  by  the  advantages  given  him  by 
this  most  vicious  banking  act. 

Let  us  see  what  another  citizen  can  do  by  working  the  same 
way  with,  say,  a  $100,000 :  Buy  a  bond,  take  it  to  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury  for  deposit  and  ask  for  the  $90,000  green¬ 
backs  or  authority  to  issue  notes  on  the  strength  of  his  bond,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  will  say  to  him  you  must  be  a  national 
banker. 

The  citizen  will  say : 

What,  Sir!  This  is  a  country  of  equal  rights  to  all  and 
privileges  to  none. 

U.  S.  Treasurer — That  is  not  true.  Sir !  The  bankers  now 
have  all  the  privileges  which  they  want,  and  will  see  to  it  that 
they  are  continued  from  now  on. 

Citizen — I  must  have  $90,000.  I  need  it  to  carry  on  my 
enterprises. 

Treasurer — I  told  you.  Sir,  that  you  must  be  a  pet  national 
banker  to  get  it,  according  to  the  law.  What  do  1  care  about 
your  enterprises? 

Citizen — Well,  you  have  disregarded  the  coinage  laws  and 
paid  the  Government  obligations  in  gold  when  you  should  have 
paid  them  in  coin.  Silver  coin,  I  mean.  So  you  can  disregard 


32 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  ok 


this  banking  law,  which  is  a  steel  trap,  with  the  accent  on  the 
“  steel,”  and  give  me  the  |90,000. 

Treasurer — Say !  don’t  you  dare  talk  that  way  to  me.  That 
banking  law  was  introduced  by  a  great  financier  and  a  friend  of 
mine.  He  is  a  Republican,  but  that  does  not  matter.  We  agree 
on  what  is  good  for  us  and  fool  the  people  on  party  lines,  but 
there  is  no  difference  between  us  oh  this  subject,  so  you  had  best 
refrain  from  talking  about  him  and  the  law.  Here  it  is,  read  it 
for  yourself. 

Citizen — I  do  not  care  to  read  that  law  again,  because  it  is 
the  worst  law  on  the  statute  ’books,  and  the  man  who  introduced 
and  had  it  passed  is  a  traitor  and  a  disgrace  to  the  people  of 
America,  and  such  laws  are  a  menace  to  the  people’s  liberties. 
Give  me  the  $90,000  and  do  not  force  me  to  say  any  more  on  the 
subject. 

Treasurer — Young  man,  you  had  better  be  careful  what  you 
say  about  my  friend.  He  is  backed  by  the  richest  men  in  the 
country.  Go  away  from  here.  I  cannot  give  you  the  $90,000. 
You  must  be  crazy  to  ask  for  it. 

Citizen — Do  not  make  any  threats  about  my  getting  into 
trouble.  What  for?  Telling  the  truth?  You  people  holding 
ofiice  claim  to  know  all  about  the  financial  question  (or  any  other 
question  for  that  matter)  when,  in  reality,  you  know  nothing  at 
all  about  it,  only  what  your  masters,  the  Rothschilds  and  Morgans, 
make  you  believe,  and  do.  Give  me  the  $90,000.  I  need  it  to 
carry  on  my  business.  As  for  your  advice,  keep  it  for  your  own  use. 

Treasurer — Porter,  call  an  officer  and  have  this  man 
removed.  He  is  crazy  and  wants  $90,000.  The  law  of  February 
25th,  1863,  was  not  introduced  for  crazy  people  like  him.  It  was 
passed  for  the  benefit  of  the  favorite  few  (the  rich).  Be  quick. 
Get  the  officer  and  have  him  lock  this  man  up  as  a  lunatic. 

Citizen — That  is  what  cowardly  officers  of  the  people  like  you 
do,  turn  over  to  the  police  as  crazy  a  citizen  that  defends  his 
rights  granted  to  him  by  the  Constitution. 

The  citizen  had  to  withdraw  or  get  arrested.  He  does  not 
receive  the  $90,000  which  the  banker  would  have  received  had 
the  latter  asked  for  it. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


33 


An  answer  in  advance.  Now  they  will  say  this  is  a  free 
country,  and  you  can  do  the  same  thing,  start  a  National 
Bank  and  have  the  same  privilege.  Oh,  yes,  it  does  not  take 
much  to  start  a  National  Bank,  only  $50,000  is  the  lowest 
limit  of  the  law.  How  many  American  citizens  can 
raise  that  much— so  small  a  sum  you  find  it  in  everybody’s 
pocket  in  these  days,  don’t,  you?  But  suppose  that  every 
citizen  had  $50,000  and  all  went  banking,  wouldn’t  this  be  a 
great  country,  we  would  live  high  on  looking  at  money,  but 
who  Avould  produce  the  wealth  and  necessaries  of  life  ?  * 

No  wonder  bankers  can  afford  to  build  ten  and  twenty 
story  buildings  (See  illustration,  City  of  Bankers’  country). 


NOW  COMES  THE  TROUBLE. 

The  cruel  war  has  come  to  an  end  and  the  bankers  have 
farmed  Uncle  Sam’s  notes,  and  they  cannot  pay  them  back  to 
him  as  duties,  as  they  are  marked  on  the  back,  and  Lincoln 
will  not  now  bond  the  country  in  time  of  peace,  as  he  refused 
to  bond  it  in  time  of  war  and  in  need.  He  would  use  his 
power  and  influence  to  not  bond  the  country  and  his  people 
that  he  loved  so  well,  and  he  was  a  fearless  man  and  did  not 
hesitate  a  moment  to  fearlessly  express  his  ojiinion  on  the 
subject,  and  at  the  end  of  the  war  when  his  friend  in  Spring- 
field,  Ill.,  wrote  him  congratulating  him  that  he  had  brought 
the  civil  war  to  an  end,  he  answered  ‘Wes,  the  civil  war  is  at 
an  end,  but  I  see  a  power  going  into  Congress  through  party 
prejudice  worse  than  all  the  armies  of  the  South,  for  the 
enslavement  of  my  people  (how  prophetically  he  spoke).  As 
to  the  stand  he  took  against  the  Wall  street  gold  sharks,  we 
all  know  it.  He  would  never  have  taken  any  banker’ s  advice. 

Lincoln  foresaw  a  bad  future  as  a  result  of  the  war,  and 
predicts  the  destruction  of  the  republic.  Here  is  what  he  said 
when  the  war  was  nearing  its  end : 

“  Yes  ;  we  may  all  congratulate  ourselves  that  this  cruel  war  is  nearing  a  close. 
It  has  cost  a  vast  amount  of  blood  and  treasure.  The  best  blood  of  the  llower  of 
American  youth  has  been  freely  offered  upon  our  country’s  altar  that  the  nation 
might  live.  It  has  been,  indeed,  a  trying  hour  for  the  Republic,  hut  I  see  in  the 
near  future  a  crisis  approaching  that  unnerves  me  and  causes  me  to  trcmhie  for  the 
safety  of  my  country.  As  a  result  of  the  war  corporations  have  been  enthroned  and  an 

3 


34 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

era  of  corruption  in  high  places  will  follow  and  the  money  power  of  the  country  will 
endeavor  to  prolong  its  reign  by  working  upon  the  prejudices  of  the  people  until  the 
wealth  is  aggregated  in  a  few  hands  and  the  Republic  is  destroyed.  I  feel  at  this 
moment  more  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  my  country  than  ever  before,  even  in  the  midst 
of  war.  God  grant  that  my  suspicion  may  prove  groundless.” 

Great  Scott!  what  a  prophet.  The  far-reaching  mind  of 
Lincoln  foresaw  the  coming  events.  The  seed  of  a  gigantic  plant 
had  been  planted  on  the  foundation  of  the  war  by  a  class  who 
intended  to  take  cafe  of  it,  develop  its  growth  and  not  allow  it  to . 
die.  The  money  power  is  doing  its  best  to  keep  it  growing. 
Lincoln  predicted  its  growth  and  was  preparing  his  rail-splitting 
axe  to  chop  it  off.  But  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  and 
for  the  country  if  he  had  not  said  anything  about  the  money 
power  tree,  for  then  he  might  have  been  living  yet  to-day  if 
natural  death  had  not  called  him.  This  and  other  actions  of  the 
Honest  President  put  the  conspirators’  plant  in  danger  if  Lincoln 
had  lived.  Let  us  follow  the  result : 

THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  LINCOLN.  WHY? 

The  true  secret  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  has 
never  before  been  written.  Many  people  believe  that  it  was  for 
the  Lost  Cause,  while  others  think  that  religion  had  something 
to  do  with  it.  At  any  rate  it  is  the  concensus  of  public  opinion, 
that  Lincoln’s  assassination  was  the  much  to  be  deplored,  success¬ 
ful  execution  of  a  deliberate  conspiracy,  to  either  kill  or  kidnap 
the  martyred  President.  Now,  who  could  be  benefitted  by  his  death, 
and  who  were  the  persons  behind  the  scenes  of  this  conspiracy  ? 
It  is  well  known  that  Lincoln  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  bond¬ 
ing  of  this  country,  and  to  the  financial  policy,  of  which  certain 
leaders  in  Congress  were  only  the  mouthpieces.  The  persons 
who  would  profit  most,  were  the  ones  who  most  desired  his 
death,  because  he  was  honest  and  opposed  their  schemes. 

Let  us  be  reasonable  and  carefully  consider  this  matter. 
Neither  religion  nor  the  Lost  Cause  could  have  profitted  by  the 
death  of  Lincoln.  He  was  no  religious  bigot,  and  he  had  no 
animosity  against  the  South.  Lee  had  surrendered  and  the  war 
between  the  North  and  South  was  ended.  In  fact  his  assassina¬ 
tion  was  a  great  injury  to  the  South,  because  it  led  to  the  recon¬ 
struction  times,  which  injured  the  South  more  than  the  war  had 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


85 


done.  Many  Southern  leaders  have  said,  “that  in  the  death  of 
Lincoln  the  South  lost  her  best  friend.”  In  the  Funding  Act 
of  1866,  the  Credit  Strengthing  Act  of  1869,  the  Refunding  Act 
of  1870  and  the  crime  of  1873  (which  legislation,  Lincoln’s 
policy  was  opposed  to),  we  see  a  chain  of  evidence  which  shows 
who  were  really  benefitted  by  the  death  of  Lincoln.  Besides 
this,  the  writer  will  now  disclose  and  make  public,  after  four 
years  research  and  investigation,  and  after  having  been  con¬ 
vinced,  the  true  reasons  why  Lincoln  was  assassinated. 

In  February,  1891,  while  in  business  in  Los  Angeles,  Califor¬ 
nia,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  one  Felippo  Froscari,  with 
whom  I  had  some  business  dealings  and  who  got  into  my  debt. 
He  left  Los  Angeles,  saying  that  he  would  be  gone  about  two 
months  and  would  return  wdth  plenty  of  money,  but  refused  to 
say  where  he  was  going.  On  his  return  he  said  that  he  had  not 
found  the  party  from  whom  he  had  expected  to  receive  the 
money ;  and  was  greatly  disappointed,  for  a  previous  occasion 
he  had  been  away  for  about  three  months  and  returned  with 
$15,000,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  as  can  also  be  certified  by 
James  Castruccio,  an  Italian  merchant,  at  No.  30  North  Main 
street,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  and  others  who  knew  Froscari.  Shortly 
afterwards  Froscari  died  in  the  Venezia  House,  a  small  boarding 
place  kept  by  a  Venetian  named  Gsetano  Lissari.  Before  his 
death  he  told  me  that,  in  consideration  of  my  kindness  to  him, 
he  would  reveal  to  me  a  secret  that  might  be  of  benefit  if  I 
wanted  to  make  it  public.  He  said  : 

“  My  real  name  is  not  Felippo  Froscari.  It  is  Arthur  Borg- 
hese.  I  committed  a  wrong  in  Rome  and  my  relatives,  who  are 
rich,  sent  me  to  London  to  escape  arrest.  There  I  went  by  the 
name  of  Arditi.  Being  followed,  I  left  there  for  Montreal,  Canada, 
where  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  Wilkes  Booth,  the  man 
who  later  killed  Lincoln.  He  was  very  generous  to  everybody, 
and  especially  to  me,  and  several  times  insisted  on  giving  me 
money,  although  I  was  not  in  need  of  it.  At  his  request  I  went 
with  him  to  New  York,  where  he  promised  that  if  I  would  not 
betray  his  secrets  and  would  co-operate  with  him,  he  would  insure 
me  wealth  for  my  life-time.  I  swore  on  a  cross  and  a  Bible,  and 
then  he  informed  me  that  he  had  been  to  Canada  to  make  arrange¬ 
ments  with  interested  parties  there  to  kill  President  Lincoln,  be- 


36 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


cause  Lincoln  was  no  good  and  dishonest.  He  showed  me  two 
London  newspapers  containing  articles  after  Lincoln’s  re-election. 
I  did  not  fancy  harming  a  complete  stranger  to  me,  but  he  as¬ 
sured  me  that  the  country  and  the  world  at  large  would  honor 
us,  and  seduced  me  by  his  promises  of  money. 

I  was  paid  a  large  sum  immediately  by  him,  which  he  got  from 
a  man  who  was  to  leave  for  London  the  next  day.  Booth  and  I 
went  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  but  found  no  opportunity  to  assas¬ 
sinate  Lincoln,  so  we  went  South,  where  I  left  Booth.  Until  now 
I  have  kept  my  secret,  and  only  tell  you  because  I  am  about  to 
die. 

The  next  day  Froscari  died.  What  he  had  said  greatly  im¬ 
pressed  me,  and  I  concluded  to  investigate  the  matter.  I  have 
spent  considerable  time  and  money  in  so  doing.  The  following  is 
strong  and  conclusive  evidence,  which  I  have  collected  to  corrob¬ 
orate  Froscari’s  statement,  which,  in  my  opinion,  proves  con¬ 
clusively  that  Booth  had  been  in  Canada  in  consultation  with 
English  financiers  before  he  assassinated  Lincoln. 

One  year,  less  three  days,  from  Lincoln’s  death,  an  Act  called 
the  Funding  Act,  was  passed  by  Congress,  by  which  Act  the 
Bondholders  ultimately  made  $2,110,000,000.  Would  Lincoln 
have  signed  such  an  act  ? 

ENGLISH  HATE  AGAINST  LINCOLN. 

From  the  London  Herald,  organ  of  the  English  aristocrats, 
of  November  22,  1864,  after  Mr.  Lincoln’s  re-election : 

*  *  *  Lincoln  has  been  re-elected.  He  will  go  on,  in  his  own  phrase, 

pegging  way,^^  at  objects  already  shown  to  be  nuattainable.  Lincoln  is  u  vulgcLT^ 
brutal  boor,  wholly  ignorant  of  political  science,  of  military  affaim,  of  everything 
else,  which  a  statesman  should  know.  He  has  allowed  the  public  to  be  robbed  to  an 
indefinite  extent  by  his  ministers.  He  has  shielded  them  from  punishment,  con¬ 
tinued  them  in  office,  and  in  the  only  case  in  which  the  scandal  was  too  bad  to  be 
hushed  up  at  home,  he  appointed  the  guilty  party  to  a  first-class  embassy.  For 
our  own  part  we  rejoice  that  the  cause  of  oppression^  robbery  and  injustice  is  en¬ 
trusted  to  the  hands  of  a  vacillating,  helpless  imbecile  rather  than  to  those  of  an  able, 
resolute  and  efficient  soldier  (McClellan). 

The  London  Standard  and  Globe  were  so  venal  in  their  vilifi¬ 
cation  of  Mr.  Lincoln  after  his  re-election  that  to  not  insult  the 
memory  of  the  Great  President  the  writer  will  refrain  to  publish 


f 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  37 


here  what  was  printed  by  these  two  pimp  and  dude  papers,  which 
accused  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a  corrupt,  dishonest  brute,  and  that  the 
people  of  the  North  had  been  duped  besides.  Why  all  this,  the 
readers  can  judge  for  themselves.  Mr.  Lincoln’s  policy  was 
against  England’s  Gold  Standard  Policy,  and  division  of  the 
country. 

In  the  Century  Magazine  of  January,  1890,  appears  an  inter¬ 
esting  article  which  was  copyrighted  in  -1886  by  John  G. 
Nicolay  and  John  Hay,  Private  Secretaries  to  President  Lincoln. 

Messrs.  Nicolay  and  Hay  state  in  their  article  (quoted  below) 
on  page  432,  second  column,  that  after  Mr.  Lincoln’s  re-election. 
Booth  had  visited  Canada,  here  is  what  they  say  in  speaking  of 
Booth : 

He  visited  Canada,  consorted  with  the  rebel  emissaries  there,  and  at  last,  whether 
or  not  at  their  instigation  cannot  certainly  be  said,  conceived  a  scheme  to  capture 
the  President  and  to  take  him  to  Richmond,  he  spent  a  great  part  of  the  Autumn 
and  Winter,  in  inducing  a  small  number  of  loose  fish  of  Secession  Sympathizers  to 
join  him  in  this  fantastic  enterprise.  He  seemed  always  well  supplied  with  money, 
and  talked  largely  of  his  speculations  in  oil  as  a  source  of  income  ;  but  his  agent 
afterwards  testified  that  he  never  realized  a  dollar  from  that  source  ;  that  his  in¬ 
vestments,  which  were  inconsiderable,  were  a  total  loss.  The  Winter  passed  away, 
and  nothing  was  accomplished.  On  the  fourth  of  IMarch  Booth  was  at  the  Capitol 
and  created  a  disturbance  by  trying  to  force  his  way  through  the  line  of  policemen 
who  guarded  the  passage  through  which  the  President  walked  to  the  east  front  of 
the  building.  His  intentions  at  this  time  are  not  known  ;  he  afterwards  said  he 
lost  an  excellent  chance  of  killing  the  President  that  day.  There  are  indications  in 
the  evidence  given  on  the  trial  of  the  conspirators  that  they  suffered  some  great 
disappointment  in  their  schemes  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  and  a  letter  from  Ar¬ 
nold  to  Booth,  dated  March  27,  showed  some  of  them  had  grown  timid  of  conse¬ 
quences  of  their  contemplated  enterprise.  He  advised  Booth,  before  going  further, 
“  to  go  and  see  how  it  will  be  taken  in  R — d.” 

In  page  440  of  same  article  Mr.  Nicolay  and  Hay  say  that 
Congress  did  not  conceal  the  gratification  that  Lincoln  was  no 
longer  in  their  way.  Here  is  their  language  in  said  article  : 

In  a  political  caucus,  held  a  few  hours  after  the  President’s  death,  they  re¬ 
solved  on  au  entire  change  of  Cabinet,  and  a  “  line  of  policy  less  conciliatory  than 
that  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  .  .  .  the  feeling  was  nearly  universal.”  We  are  using 

the  language  of  one  of  their  most  prominent  representatives,  ‘  ‘  that  the  accession 
of  Johnson  to  the  Presidency  would  prove  a  godsend  to  the  country.” 

The  next  day  the  committee  on  conduct  of  the  war  called  on  the  new  Presi¬ 
dent,  and  Senator  Wade  bluntly  expressed  to  him  the  feeling  of  his  associates  : 
“Johnson,  we  have  faith  in  you.  By  the  Gods,  there  will  be  no  trouble  now  in 
running  the  government.  ’  ’ 


38 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


According  to  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Wade,  Senator  from 
Ohio,  it  shows  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  or  would  cause  some  trouble 
in  carrying  out  some- different  plan  than  that  subsequently  put 
into  operation  by  the  currency  contractionists. 

In  the  end  of  Messrs.  Nicolay’s  and  Hays’  article,  on  page 
449,  there  is  the  report  of  Captain  E.  P.  Dohorty,  who  had  charge 
of  the  Twenty -fifth  Cavalry,  men  that  went  after  Booth.  He 
states :  That  after  Booth  had  died,  he  searched  and  found  on 
him  a  draft  on  Canada  for  sixty  pounds  besides  other  things. 


Abraham  Lincoln  (one  of  the  victims). 

We  see  that  Lincoln  had  to  be  taken  out  of  the  way  so  that  the 
conspirators  could  carry  out  their  plan.  What  could  the  South 
gain  by  killing  Lincoln  ?  Nothing.  The  war  was  over.  The  South 
lost  by  the  death  of  Lincoln.  But  it  would  do  the  conspirators 
great  good.  They  could  carry  out  their  plans,  which  they  did. 

After  his  death,  the  bankers  said  to  Uncle  Sam  your  credit  is 
running  down  with  the  notes  you  issued,  and  you  had  better 
fund  your  debt.  On  April  12th,  1866,  the  Funding  Act  was 
passed.  On  March  1st,  1869,  the  credit  strengthening  act  was 
passed ;  no  need  for  it,  the  credit  of  this  nation  was  good.  But 
the  conspirators  that  had  the  refunding  act  in  view,  which  was 


The  Woest  Financial  System  in  the  Woelh. 


39 


passed  on  July  24tli,  1870,  making  the  bonds  payable  in  coin. 
Feb.  12th,  1873,  the  demonetizing  of  silver  act  was  passed, 
with  the  influence  of  £100,000  ($500,000)  English  money,  with 
orders  to  draw  $500,000  more  if  necessary  to  carry  out  the 
instructions  of  the  Bank  of  England  and  other  European 
Bankers.  This  was  also  a  scheme  of  “Honest  John”  and  his 
honest  Dollar.  See  sworn  statement  before  the  Clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Colorado  on  page,  48  and 
Gold  is  King.  Jan.  14th,  1875,  resumption  act  was  passed, 
giving  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the  power  to  issue  bonds, 
and  it  is  under  this  act  that  Secretary  Carlisle  has  issued  the 
$262,000,000  of  new  bonds.  Sherman  was  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  above  act,  but  the 
act  did  not  take  effect  until  1879.  Jan.  12th,  1888,  the 
Extended  Bank  Charter  was  passed  and  approved  by  the 
present  Buzzard  Bay  fat  Fisherman.  1890  the  Sherman  Silver 
Purchasing  Act  was  passed,  and  Nov.  1st.,  1893,  the  uncon¬ 
ditional  repeal  of  the  said  act  by  special  request  of  President 
Cleveland,  and  the  commencement  of  issuing  more  Govern¬ 
ment  Bonds— 1894,  $100,000,000 ;  1895,  $62,500,000 ;  1896,  $100,- 
000,000  and  more  coming ;  1897,  ?  and  the  conspiracy  is  complete 
and  a  success.  The  above  laws  are  the  reason  for  it  and  they 
were  passed  by  the  influence  of  the  bankers  (in  evidence  I 
quote  John  Sherman,  before  he  became  a  Shylock  in  1862). 
He  said  in  the  Senate  “I  much  prefer  the  credit  of  the  United 
States,  based  as  it  is  upon  all  the  production  and  properties 
of  the  United  States  to  the  issue  of  any  corporation  however 
well  guarded  and  managed  and  after  he  became  a  Shylock, 
to  wit :  when  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee,  on 
Dec.  12th,  1867,  he  said,  “It  was  found  necessary,  that  with¬ 
out  the  restriction  upon  the  Greenbacks,  the  Bonds  could 
not  be  negotiated,  and  it  became  necessary  to  depreciate  the 
notes  in  order  to  create  a  market  for  the  bonds.” 

Now  here  is  an  illustration,  exactly  the  same  with  the 
government  and  the  bankers. 

W e  take  a  farmer,  a  store-keeper  and  a  banker,  we  say  in 
1860,  when  there  was  need  of  currency.  It  is  known  that  the 
farmer  is  considered  always  good  ;  has  a  good  farm  and  is  out 
of  debt,  and  he  wishes  to  buy  goods,  say  clothing,  provisions, 
etc.,  to  seed  his  farm,  and  agrees  to  issue  his  notes  to  the 


40 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


amount,  say  of  $1,100  to  the  store-keeper  for  goods.  The 
store-keeper  is  glad  to  get  them,  because  he  can  pay  his  bills 
with  them  or  buy  the  x^roducts  back  from  the  farmer  and 
return  the  notes.  The  farmer  needs  $100  worth  of  goods  and 
issues  the  first  note  to  the  merchant.  Now  the  banker  finds 
out  that  the  farmer  is  giving  the  merchant  notes  and  sends 
for  the  farmer  and  says  to  him  “Why  do  you  not  put  on  the 
back  of  the  note  ‘without  recourse  to  me’  before  delivering 
the  notes  to  the  merchant,”  and  tells  him  that  in  that  way 
the  merchant  cannot  bring  the  notes  to  the  farmer  but  has 
to  negotiate  them  with  the  banker  (see  the  trap  that  the 
banker  puts)  and  the  farmer  does  it  and  finally  delivers  the 
notes  to  the  merchant  for  the  goods.  Now  the  merchant 
wishes  to  go  abroad  or  to  California,  and  says  to  the  banker 
(who  has  planned  the  traxi)  “  I  exx^ect  I  had  better  get  some 
gold  to  take  with  me,  as  they  do  not  know  John  where  I  am 
going  and  would  not  take  his  notes.”  “Yes,”  the  banker 
says,  “We  can  accommodate  you  and  take  John’s  notes.’’ 
So  the  store-keeper  lays  down  $200  in  John’s  notes  and 
expects  $200  in  gold,  less  the  discount  that  they  agreed  on. 
The  banker  takes  the  first  note  and  says  that  it  is  all  right, 
but  the  second  one  he  looks  at  and  then  says  “We  cannot 
give  you  more  than  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar  for  it.”  The 
store-keeper  kicks.  “Why  do  you  not  see  it  has  the 
exception  clause  on  the  back,  what  did  you  take  it 
for?”  It  does  no  good,  and  he  has  to  lay  on  another  $100 
note,  giving  two  for  one,  for  it  has  the  excex^tion  clause  on 
the  back.  Now  the  merchant  goes  and  tries  to  pay  some  duty 
to  the  farmer  and  lays  down  the  farmer’s  notes  that  he  took  for 
the  goods  he  gave,  and  to  his  surprise  the  farmer  says  “They 
are  no  good,  you  will  have  to  get  gold  to  x^ay  me  the  duty.” 
“  Why  in  the  world  did  you  give  them  to  me  if  they  are  no 
good  !  You  are  a  deceiver  and  false.”  “You  had  no  business 
to  take  them  ’  ’  says  the  farmer,  and  so  the  merchant  has  to 
negotiate  the  notes  with  the  banker  at  40c.  and  50c.  on  the 
dollar  or  less.  This  applies  to  x^oor  old  soldiers  that  fought  and 
risked  their  lives  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  that  were  paid 
with  those  kind  of  notes  from  farmer  Uncle  Sam.  Think  of 
it !  Risking  your  life  and  then  being  deceived  by  the  man 
that  you  protected,  to  give  a  chance  to  the  banker  to  rob  you, 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


41 


and  the  farm  you  defended  he  bonds  afterwards  for  the  full 
amount  for  twenty  years,  and  does  it  now  to  please  the 
bankers. 

In  the  course  of  a  little  time,  or  at  the  end  of  the  war, 
the  banker  has  all  the  notes  and  sees  the  farmer  again 
and  tells  him  he  had  better  fund  his  debt  for  his  credit  is 
running  down  you  know.  He  does  it,  and  gives  a  mortgage 
bond  on  the  farm  for  $1,100  for  20  years  at  5  per  cent  interest. 
The  interest  conies  due  the  first  year,  and  he  gives  his  first 
note  for  $55.  Second  year,  $58.  Third  year,  $61.,  and  at  the 
end  of  twenty  years  he  has  given  $1,771  (as  interest  alone) 
and  he  now  owes  $2,871,  and  the  currency  or  the  notes  has 
been  taken  up  and  put  into  a  mortgage.  The  debts  must  be  - 
paid  in  gold  and  nowhere  to  get  it  from  except  from  the 
banker,  or  lose  his  farm  that  is  worth  $8,000  and  cost  the 
banker  j ust  a  little  over  $500  in  gold,  to  get  $2, 871  in  a  mortgage 
that  must  be  paid  in  gold  or  all  lost.  $2,300  lost  by  taking 
the  banker’s  advice  (you  think  that  when  you  pay  a  debt  four 
times  that  you  are  out  of  the  debt,  but  this  way  you  owe  yet 
more  than  the  fellow  loaned  you). 

Now  let  us  see  if  that  is  not  a  parallel  case  to  the  action 
of  the  bankers  with  farmer  Uncle  Sam,  or  the  government. 

On  July  17,  1861,  a  Bill  (H.  R.  14)  in  the  Senate  July  17, 
1861.  A  message  from  the  House  announced  that  the  Speaker 
had  signed  the  following  Bill,  which  thereupon  received  the 
signature  of  the  vice-President.  Bill  (H.  R.  14)  to  authorize 
a  national  loan  and  other  purposes,  authorizing  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  issue  $50,000,000  Treasury  Notes.  On 
March  17,  1862,  Congress  made  $60,000,000  Treasury  Notes 
full  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private.  The  bankers 
then  asked  Congress  to  put  on  the  back  of  the  notes  issued 
afterwards,  the  exception  clause,  which  reads  :  ‘‘A  full  legal 
tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  excej)t  duties  on 
imports  and  interest  on  the  public  debts.”  Why  duties  on 
import  s  ?  Because  it  created  and  made  a  market  for  gold,  and 
the  citizen  that  had  to  pay  the  duties  to  the  government 
(Uncle  Sam)  had  to  buy  it  from  the  bankers  who  sell  it  with 
their  left  hand  and  raise  the  x>nce  thereof.  And  why  interest 
on  the  public  debts  ?  Because  it  made  the  government  (Uncle 
Sam)  pay  it  back  as  interest  on  the  bonds  to  the  bondholders 


42 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


(the  bankers),  wlio  take  it  this  time  with  their  right  hand  so 
as  to  be  ready  to  sell  it  over  again  to  some  other  citizen,  thus 
paying  the  duties  and  keep  using  it  over  and  over  again — the 
same  gold — from  one  hand  to  the  other  and  make  it  scarce  or 
disappear  when  they  want  good  prices  for  it,  or  force 
Legislation,  as  they  do  now. 


The  exception  clause  in  our  currency  and  how  it 
works;  who  gets  the  benefit. 


Law  of  Feb.  25,  1863,  the  way  it  works  :  The  exception 
clause  that  yet  exists  on  all  the  greenbacks  introduced  by 
Sherman,  and  Congress  did  as  the  bankers  demanded  with 
these  notes.  Congress  issued  more  than  $1,000,000,000,  but 
we  will  say  or  call  it  $1,000,000,000. 

Now  let  us  see  what  it  cost  the  people  ;  interest  and  com¬ 
pound  interest  alone  cost  the  people  $1,610,000,000,  making 
the  debt  $2,610,000,000  for  twenty  years,  which  cost  the 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  43 


bankers  only  $500,000,000  in  Gold.  $2,110,000,000  lost  or  stolen 
from  tbe  people  by  taking  the  advice  of  the  bankers.  These  laws 
were  made  for  the  bankers  and  against  the  people  by  design, 
and  in  proof  of  this  I  quote  John  Sherman,  ‘‘Honest  John,” 
Senator  of  Ohio.  When  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Finance 
Committee  on  Dec.  12th,  1867,  he  said  it  was  found  necessary 
that  without  the  restriction  upon  the  greenbacks  the  bonds 
could  not  be  negotiated,  and  it  became  necessary  to  depreciate 
the  notes  in  order  to  create  a  market  for  the  bonds.  Bonds ! 
Think  of  it !  Why  pay  interest  on  a  piece  of  paper  called  a 
bond  when  we  can  use  another  piece  of  paper  and  call  it 
greenback  and  pay  no  interest  at  all.  Which  is  the  best  ? 
For  God’ s  sake  if  we  can  stand  and  stick  together  as  a  nation 
on  one  piece  of  paper  called  a  bond,  because  we  pay  interest 
on  it  to  Shylocks,  we  can  certainly  stick  and  stand  together 
on  the  other  piece,  and  pay  no  interest  at  all,  as  both  pieces 
of  paper  are  based  on  the  resources  of  the  American  people 
and  the  wealth  of  this  great  land  !  The  volume  of  the  notes 
was  tripled  and  the  right  to  convert  them  taken  away  under 
the  Act  of  Feb.  25th,  62-63,  which  put  the  exception  clause  on 
the  back  of  the  currency  and  made  it  easy  and  possible  for 
the  bankei’s  to  buy  $2,610,000,000,  gold  bearing  non-taxable 
bonds  with  one  half  billion  dollars ;  while  the  people  were 
robbed  of  the  small  amount  of  $2,110,000,000  by  taking  the 
bankers’  advice.  If  that  is  not  true  let  Sherman  and  the 
bankers  explain  why  hve  hundred  and  sixty  millions  dollars 
is  all  that  it  actually  cost  for  the  late  war.  If  issued  as  was 
the  first  $60,000,000,  no  bonds  would  have  been  necessary. 


(Illustration.) 


Jan.  1,  1895. 


Jan.  1,  1895. 


The  United  States  of  America 
promises  to  pay  on  demand  the  sum 
of  $100,000  to  bearer,  lawful  money 
of  the  United  States. 


The  United  States  of  America 
promises  to  pay  the  Bank  of  England 
the  sum  of  $100,000  in  gold  coin,  with 
interest  at  5  percent  per  annum  in  gold 
coin  of  the  United  States  after  ten  years 
interest  and  capital. 


(Sd)  Uncle  Sam. 


(Sd)  Uncle  Sam. 


There  are  two  papers,  both  signed  by  Uncle  Sam,  the 
bankers  say  one  is  not  good ;  the  other  is  good  because  they 
own  the  gold,  and  Uncle  Sam  has  to  get  some  extra  gold  to 


44 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


pay  the  interest  on  the  loan,  and  for  which  we  send  yearly  to 
England  as  interest  on  the  bonds  and  other  securities  that  she 
has,  the  round  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-live  millions  in 
gold,  while  all  the  Gold  the  world  produces  is  only  one  hundred 
and  fifty-live  millions  in  gold  ;  that  is  the  reason  why  one 
paper,  the  bond,  is  good,  and  the  other  is  not. 

July  17th,  1861,  the  law  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury 
notes  was  passed;  March  17th,  1862,  sixty  millions  dollars  of 
greenbacks  were  made  full  legal  tender,  no  exception  clause; 
February  25th,  1863,  National  Banking  Law  was  approved  ; 
April  12th,  1866,  the  Funding  Act;  March  3rd,  1869,  Credit 
Strengthening  Act;  July  24th,  1870,  Refunding  Act;  February 
12th,  1873,  Demonetizing  of  Silver  Act;  January  14th,  1875, 
Resumption  Act ;  January  12th,  1888,  extended  Bank  Charter, 
and  November  1st,  1893,  repeal  of  the  Sherman  Silver 
Purchasing  Act.  The  above  laws  are  the  reasons  for  it,  and 
they  were  passed  by  influence  of  the  bankers  ;  in  evidence,  I 
quote  John  Sherman  (befv^re  he  became  a  Shylock  in  1862),  he 
said  in  the  Senate  ‘  ‘  I  much  prefer  the  credit  of  the  United  Sta¬ 
tes,  based  as  it  is  upon  all  the  productions  and  properties  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  issue  of  any  corporation,  however  well 
guarded  and  managed.” 

The  monopolizing  and  ‘‘corrupt”  newspapers  have  been 
continuously  used  to  fool  the  people  and  cover  up  the  wicked 
work  of  the  money  lenders.  Now,  readers,  please  read  care¬ 
fully  the  following  circulars,  which  were  sent  out  by  the 
Bankers’  Organization  on  October  9th,  1878,  and  then  make 
up  your  mind  what  you  will  do. 


AMERICAN  BANKERS’  ASSOCIATION. 

New  York,  October  9th,  1878. 

Dear  Sir : 

It  is  advisable  to  do  all  in  your  power  to  sustain  such 
prominent  daily  and  weekly  newspapers,  especially  the 
Agricultural  and  Religious  Press,  as  will  oppose  the  issuing 
of  greenbacks  (paper  money),  and  that  you  also  withhold 
patronage  or  favors  from  all  applicants  who  are  not  willing  to 
oppose  the  Government  issue  of  money.  Let  the  Government 
issue  the  coin  and  the  banks  issue  the  paper  money  of  our 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


45 


country,  for  then  we  can  better  protect  each  other,  from 
repealing  the  law  creating  National  Banks,  or  restore 
circulation  of  Government  issue  of  money,  which  will  be  to 
provide  the  people  with  money,  and  will  therefore  seriously 
affect  your  individual  profits  as  banker  and  money-lender. 

And  see  your  member  of  Congress  at  once  and  engage  him 
to  support  our  interest,  that  we  may  control  Legislation. 

This  circular  was  signed  by  James  Buel,  secretary.  No.  247 
Broadway,  New  York,  and  was  sent  out  to  nearly  all  the 
bankers  in  the  country. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  special  effort  was  to  be  made  to 
control  the  Agricultural  and  Beligious  Press,  and  have  them 
oppose  the  issue  of  greenbacks;  then  it  says,  “See  your 
member  of  Congress  at  once,”  and  it  is  generally  believed 
now  that  a  great  many  Congressmen  were  seen  and  engaged 
for  their  work.  Two  other  kinds  of  circulars  were  also  sent 
out,  one  to  prominent  Republican  papers,  and  the  other  to 
prominent  Democratic  papers  ;  one  of  them  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Colonel  Pierce,  who  was  then  publishing  the 
Chicago  Inter -Ocean\  Colonel  Pierce  was  a  man  who  believed 
in  fair  play,  and  despised  a  liar  or  a  coward,  and  the  following 
is  what  appeared  in  the  Inter-Ocean  after  his  receipt  of  the 
circular. 

The  Inter -Ocean  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  the  following 
singular  document,  which  came  to  our  office  from  New  York, 
Saturday  morning : 


THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS’  ASSOCIATION. 

No.  247  Broadway, 

Room  4. 

New  York,  Oct.  9th,  1878. 

(Strictly  private.) 

Dear  Sir : 

Please  insert  the  enclosed  printed  slip  as  leaded  matter 
on  the  Editorial  page  of  your  first  issue  immediately  following 
ice  receipt  of  this  and  send  marked  copy  with  bill  to 

Yours  truly, 

James  Buel,  Secretary, 

247  Broadway,  Room  <i. 


4G 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

Comment  on  the  slip  not  to  exceed  half  a  column ;  will  be 
paid  for  if  billed  at  the  same  time.  J.  B. 

The  following  is  the  document  which  we  are  asked  to 
insert  as  leaded  matter  on  the  Editorial  page  ;  in  other  words, 
as  statement  made  by  the  Inter-Ocean. 

‘‘The  greenback  party  has  offered  through  its  managers 
to  sell  out  to  the  Democrats,  and  hereafter  work  in  Democratic 
harness,  if  a  place  for  a  few  of  their  leaders  can  be  provided 
for.’’ 

This  shows  how  much  dependence  there  is  to  be  placed  on 
the  leaders  of  the  lunatics  who  clamor  for  money  based  on 
nothing. 

We  insert  this,  but  we  shall  send  no  bill  for  it;  in  the 
first  place  we  do  not  follow  directions  about  leading  it ; 
secondly,  we  can’t  believe  a  word  of  the  statement  to  be  true  ; 
the  attempt  to  thus  maliciously  destroy  the  Greenback  Party 
without  submitting  a  word  of  proof,  is  a  piece  of  brazen 
effrontery,  which  ought  to  be  beneath  any  body  of  commercial 
gentlemen,  and  especially  the  American  Bankers’  Association. 

Another  of  the  circulars  for  the  Democratic  paper  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Bun.,  another 
man  who  refused  to  accept  their  bribe.  The  Bun  commented 
as  follows,  without  following  instructions :  the  following 
circular  was  received  yesterday  at  the  office  of  the  Bun : 


THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS’  ASSOCIATION. 

247  Broadway,  New  York. 

(Strictly  private.) 

Please  insert  enclosed  slip  as  Editorial,  and  send  marked 
copy  with  bill  to 

James  Buel,  Secretary, 

247  Broadway,  Room  4. 

The  prospect  is,  that  in  six  months  there  will  not  be  a 
greenback  leader  in  all  the  land  ;  overtures  have  been  made 
by  the  leaders  of  the  greenback  movement  to  President  Hayes 
to  abandon  the  greenback  as  a  lost  cause,  provided  he  will 
give  good  official  positions  to  about  twenty  of  the  blatant 
clamorers  for  money  based  on  nothing. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


47 


You  see  the  presto-change  to  get  the  people  prejudiced,  and 
also  the  absurd  claim  that  this  great  country,  with  all  its  re¬ 
sources  and  all  the  American  people,  can  only  issue  money  that 
is  based  on  nothing  else  but  gold. 

If  we  give  them  all  the  gold  in  the  world,  and  then  lock 
them  up  in  one  of  these  islands,  and  give  them  nothing  for  it, 
the  writer  would  be  glad  to  see  them  live  by  looking  at  it. 
The  writer  remembers  a  case,  while  in  Arizona  in  1882  ;  two 
prospectors  found  a  gold  nugget,  which  was  so  heavy  that  the 
two  men  could  not  lift  it ;  they  both  watched  it  so  that  no 
other  prospector  could  come  along  and  claim  it ;  but  provisions 
were  getting  low,  and  as  no  one  came  to  haul  the  gold  away, 
as  they  were  in  the  desert,  one  of  the  prospectors  being  more 
intelligent  than  the  other,  said  to  Jack,  ‘4et  us  bury  the 
gold  in  the  ground,  and  go  after  provisions,  a  mule  and  tools 
with  which  to  break  it,  so  that  we  can  go  away  from  here 
before  starving  to  death.”  Jack  had  been  cheated  once 
before  by  a  partner  in  a  claim,  by  taking  his  partner’ s  advice, 
and  this  time  he  was  not  going  to  take  any  chances.  So  he 
said  “You  can  go  and  try  to  get  more  provisions,  tools  and  a 
mule,  and  leave  me  what  provisions  we  have  and  I  will  watch 
the  gold;”  his  partner  said,  “No,  we  are  too  far  from  a 
settlement,  as  we  have  been  three  weeks  away  from  the  last 
place  we  were  in,  and  I  take  no  chances.  I  take  my  half  of 
the  provisions  and  go  ;  you  can  stay  if  you  want  to.”  So 
Jack  stayed  and  watched  the  gold,  but  it  was  so  far  that  when 
his  partner  came  back  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  Jack  was 
dead  by  the  side  of  the  gold. 

Now,  it  will  be  remembered,  that  about  that  time,  1878, 
the  Greenback  Party  was  threatening  the  annihilation  of  both 
the  two  old  rotten  parties,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  special 
eifort  of  the  bankers,  who  make  their  money  by  loaning 
money,  the  Greenback  Party  would  have  been  victorious  long 
ago. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  Reform 
Movement,  can  easily  detect  such  articles  as  the  above  that 
are  paid  for  by  the  money  lenders,  in  most  of  the  great  news¬ 
papers  of  the  country. 

It  is  high  time  for  the  voters  to  awaken  to  their  own 
interest,  and  quit  voting  for  the  other  fellow.  The  bankers 


48 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  ok 


have  no  scruples,  remember,  and  will  try  every  device  to  fool 
the  people. 

Readers,  please  investigate  these  matters,  for  it  is  best  that 
we  all  understand  how  our  public  work  is  being  done,  for 
that,  which  concerns  one,  concerns  all;  if  we  are  being  robbed 
bylaw,  let  us  find  it  out.  We  have  made  thirty-one  thousand 
millionaires  in  twenty-five  years,  and  there  are  about  fifty 
millions  of  tramps,  and  they  are  increasing.  In  1866  we  had 
only  four  millionaires,  and  they  are  made  by  special  laws;  the 
baby  born  to  Rothschild  inherits  one  hundred  and  fifty 
million  of  dollars,  and  it  takes  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  men  at  two  dollars  per  day  to  jiay  the  interest  at 
five  per  cent ;  it  must  be  paid  by  labor  if  paid  at  all.  Astor’s 
income  is  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  per  day,  and  it  takes 
twenty-five  thousand  men  to  pay  his  income  at  two  dollars 
per  day ;  allowing  one  dollar  per  day  for  each  man  to  keep 
himself  and  his  family.  This  profit  must  come  from  labor, 
and  everyone  who  works  helps  to  pay  it. 

Think  of  it,  and  then  see  is  it  not  better  that  the  Govern¬ 
ment  issue  the  money  direct  to  the  people  on  theix  security, 
and  stop  paying  interest  to  Shylocks. 

Help  to  elect  people  who  will  carry  out  the  cause  of  the 
people. 

English  bankers  send  a  man  over  to  America  to  bribe  the 
American  House  and  Senate  to  demonetize  silver. 

Ernest  Seyd  comes  over  from  England  with  £100,000.  A 
Denver  man  of  high  character  swears  to  Seyd’s  confession,  a 
story  of  the  most  gigantic  and  far-reaching  fraud  ever 
perpetrated  on  the  American  people. 

Mr.  Frederick  Luckenbach  is  a  citizen  of  Denver  and  is 
well  and  favorably  known  by  many  of  Colorado’s  business 
men. 


STATE  OF  COLORADO 


County  of  Arapahoe.  ) 

FREDERICK  LUCKENBACH,  being  first  duly  sworn,  on 
oath  deposes  and  says,  I  am  sixty-two  years  of  age  ;  I  was 
born  in  Buck  County,  Pennsylvania ;  I  removed  to  Phila¬ 
delphia  in  the  year  1846,  and  continued  to  reside  there  until 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


49 


1866,  when  I  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York.  In 
Philadelphia  I  was  in  the  furniture  business  ;  in  New  York  I 
branched  off  into  machinery  and  invention,  and  I  am  the 
patentee  of  Luckenbach’s  Pneumatic  Pulverizer,  which 
machine  is  now  in  use  in  general  in  the  Eastern  part  of  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  I  now  reside  in  Denver,  having 
removed  from  New  York  two  years  ago.  I  am  well  known  in 
New  York  ;  I  have  been  a  member  of  the  Produce  Exchange, 
and  I  am  well  acquainted  with  many  members  of  that  body  ; 
I  am  well-known  by  Mr.  Erastus  Wiman.  In  the  year  1865 
I  visited  London,  England,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  there 
Pennsylvania  oil  properties,  in  which  I  was  interested.  I 
took  with  me  letters  of  introduction  to  many  gentlemen  in 
London,  among  them,  one  to  Mr.  Ernest  Seyd  from  Robert 
M.  Foust,  ex-Treasurer  of  Phila^delphia ;  I  became  well 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Seyd,  and  with  his  brother  Richard 
Seyd,  who  I  understand  is  yet  living.  I  visited  London, 
thereafter  every  year,  and  at  each  visit  I  renewed  my 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Seyd,  and  upon  each  occasion  became 
his  guest,  one  or  more  times  joining  his  family  at  dinner.  In 
February,  1874,  while  on  one  of  those  visits,  and  while  his 
guest  for  dinner,  I,  among  other  things,  alluded  to  rumors 
afloat  of  Parliamentary  corruption,  and  expressed  astonish¬ 
ment  that  such  corruption  should  exist  ;  in  reply  to  this  he 
told  me  he  could  relate  facts  about  the  corruption  of  the 
American  Congress  that  would  place  it  far  ahead  of  the 
English  Parliament  in  that  line  ;  so  far  the  conversation  was 
at  the  dinner  table  between  us ;  his  brother  Richard  and 
others  were  there  also,  but  this  was  table  talk  between  Mr. 
Ernest  Seyd  and  myself.  After  the  dinner  was  ended,  he 
invited  me  to  another  room  where  he  resumed  the  conversa¬ 
tion  about  Legislative  corruption ;  he  said  “  If  you  will 
pledge  me  your  honor  as  a  gentleman  not  to  divulge  what  I 
am  about  to  tell  you,  while  I  live,  I  will  convince  you  that 
what  I  said  about  the  corruption  of  the  American  Congress  is 
true.”  I  gave  him  the  promise,  and  he  continued,  ‘‘I  went 
to  America  in  the  winter  of  1872-8,  authorized  to  secure  if  I 
could  the  passage  of  a  bill  demonetizing  silver.  It  was  to  the 
interest  of  those  I  represented,  the  Governors  of  the  Bank  of 
England,  to  have  it  done  ;  I  took  with  me  £100,000. 

4 


50 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


with  instructions,  that  if  it  was  not  sufficient  to  accomplish 
the  object  to  draw  for  another  £100,000  or  as  much  more  as 
was  necessary;  he  told  me  that  German  bankers  were 
interested  in  having  it  accomplished  ;  he  said  he  was  the 
financial  adviser  of  the  bank.  He  said,  ^  ‘  I  saw  the  Committee 
of  the  House  and  Senate  and  paid  the  money  and  stayed  in 
America  until  I  knew  the  measure  was  safe ;  I  asked  if  he 
would  give  me  the  names  of  the  members  to  whom  he  paid 
the  money,  but  this  he  declined  to  do.  He  said,  ‘  ‘  You  people 
will  not  noio  comprehend  the  far-reaching  extent  of  that 
measure^  lout  will  in  after  years  f  Whatever  you  may  think 
of  corruption  in  the  English  Parliament,  I  assure  you  I  would 
not  have  dared  to  make  such  an  attempt  here  as  I  did  in  your 
country.  I  expressed  my  shame  to  him  for  my  countrymen 
in  our  Legislative  bodies.  The  conversation  drifted  into 
other  subjects,  and  after  that,  though  I  met  him  many  times, 
the  matter  was  never  again  referred  to. 

(Signed)  Frederick  A.  Luckenbach. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  ) 
me  at  Denver,  this  Ninth  [- 
day  of  May,  A.  D.  1892.  ) 

(Signed)  James  A.  Miller, 

[Seal]  Clerk  Supreme  Court, 

State  of  Colorado. 

You  will  notice  the  words:  “that  we  would  comprehend 
the  importance  and  far-reaching  extent  of  that  law  in  after 
years,”  and  I  say,  readers,  that  all  the  American  people 
comprehend  it  now,  if  they  would  only  think  of  it. 

Here  is  another  of  the  Bankers’  circulars  sent  out  on 
March  3rd,  1893,  that  I  copied  from  an  original  one,  that 
Grandmaster  Workman,  J.  B.  Sovereign  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor,  read  at  a  large  meeting  held  at  the  State  Capitol  House 
of  Legislature,  at  Little  Bock,  Arkansas,  where  Mr.  Sovereign 
made  a  brilliant,  intelligent  and  forcible  speech  for  the  cause 
of  Labor.  Governor  W.  M.  Fishback  of  said  State  presided 
at  said  meeting. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


51 


THE  PANIC  BULLETIN. 

THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS’  ASSOCIATION, 

2  Wall  Street  and  90-94  Broadway. 

New  York,  March  3rd,  1893. 

To  the  Bankers  of  the  United  States  : 

Dear  Sir  : — The  interests  of  the  National  Bankers  require  immediate  financial 
legislation  by  Congress.  Silver,  silver  certificates  and  treasury  notes  should  be  re¬ 
tired,  and  national  bank  notes  upon  a  gold  basis  made  the  only  money.  This  will 
require  the  authorization  of  from  $500,000,000  to  $1,000,000,000  of  new  bonds  as  a 
basis  of  circulation.  You  will  at  once  retire  one-third  of  your  circulation  and  call 
in  one-half  of  your  loans.  Be  careful  to  make  a  money  stringency  felt  among 
your  patrons,  especially  among  influential  business  men.  Advocate  an  extra  ses¬ 
sion  of  Congress  for  the  repeal  of  the  purchase  clause  of  the  Shefman  law  and  act 
with  the  other  banks  of  your  city  in  securing  a  large  petition  to  Congress  for  its 
unconditional  repeal,  per  accompanying  form.  Use  personal  influence  with  Con¬ 
gressmen,  and  particularly  let  your  wishes  be  known  to  your  Senators.  The  future 
life  of  national  banks  as  fixed  and  safe  investments  depends  upon  immediate  action, 
as  there  is  an  increasing  sentiment  in  favor  of  Government  legal  tender  notes  and 
silver  coinage. 

EUGENE  H.  PULLEN,  President, 

The  above  circular  speaks  for  itself.  What  the  bankers 
wanted  they  surely  got.  When  the  extra  session  of  Congress  was 
called  the  purchasing  clause  of  the  Sherman  law  was  repealed^ 
and  the  issue  of  new  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $262,000,000  se¬ 
cured,  with  a  promise  of  more  coming.  As  it  is  planned  that 
after  they  vote  (the  chumps)  $100,000,000  will  be  issued,  and  it 
is  also  proposed  that  if  McKinley  gets  elected,  and  the  plan  car¬ 
ried  out,  $500,000,000  more  will  be  issued.  Here  is  the  plan : 
Senator  Sherman,  who  wrote  the  gold  plank  for  their  platform, 
is  to  succeed  Carlisle,  he  will  recommend  the  issue  of  $500,000,- 
000  of  fifty  years  gold  bonds  to  retire  the  $500,000,000  paper 
currency,  and  issue  $445,000,000  National  Bank  Notes  for  circula¬ 
tion.  Sherman  and  all  the  clique  newspapers  will  argue  that  it 
will  stop  the  endless  chain  of  depleting  his  unlawful  $100,000,000 
gold  reserve.  At  4  per  cent,  interest  this  will  give  the  schemers 
$1,000,000,000  as  interest  on  the  bonds  alone,  making  the  debt 
$1,500,000,000,  and  if  compounded  it  will  be  :  First  year,  $520,- 
000,000 ;  second  year,  $540,800,000 ;  third  year,  $562,432,000,  and 
at  the  end  of  fifty  years  it  will  amount,  interest  and  capital  to 
$3,552,000,000.  Think  of  it !  More  than  seven  times  the  amount 
borrowed ! !  Then  the  interest  on  the  Bank  Notes,  too.  Oh ! 
God,  please  save  the  American  Republic  by  enlightening  the  peo¬ 
ple  to  see  and  stop  it. 


52 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS’  ASSOCIATION, 

2  Wall  Street  and  90-94  Broadway. 

New  York,  March  23rd,  1896. 

To  the  Bankers  of  the  United  States  : — At  a  meeting  of  the  Execntive  Council 
of  the  American  Bankers’  Association  held  in  this  City  on  March  11th,  1896,  the 
following  declaration  was  made  by  unanimous  vote  : 

‘  ‘  The  Executive  Council  of  the  American  Bankers’  Association  declare  une¬ 
quivocally  in  favor  of  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  gold  standard  of  value  and 
recommend  to  all  Bankers  and  of  the  customers  of  all  banks  and  exercise  of  all  of 
their  influence  as  citizens  in  their  various  States  to  select  delegates  to  tlie  political 
conventions  of  both  the  great  parties  who  will  declare  unequivocally  in  favor  of  the 
maintenance  of  the  existing  gold  standard  of  value.” 

Your  influence  is  earnestly  requested  to  give  practical  effect  to  this  action. 

The  next  Annual  Convention  of  the  Association  is  to  beheld  in  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
on  September  22nd,  23rd  and  24th,  1896,  and  it  is  intended  to  make  the  Conven¬ 
tion  of  unusual  interest  to  Bankers,  and  to  devote  the  programme  chiefly  to  the 
discussion  of  banking  questions  by  members.  To  this  end  short,  compact  questions 
involving  banking  practice  or  problems  are  solicited  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  Association  seeks  to  unite  all  banks  and  bankers  in  one  efficient  National 
Organization,  and  it  solicits  all  National  and  State  Banks,  Savings  Banks  and  Bank¬ 
ing  Firms  to  become  members.  For  the  current  year  ending  September  1st,  1896, 
the  dues  are  ten  dollars  for  banks  with  a  capital  of  $100,000  and  more,  and  five 
dollars  for  banks  having  less  than  $100,000  capital  and  for  private  bankers.  The 
advertisement  in  the  Association’s  Proceedings,  sent  to  all  banks  and  bankers  is 
alone  worth  the  cost  of  membership.  If  you  desire  to  join,  kindly  sign  and  return 
enclosed  blank. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  Protective  feature  of  the  Association  which  is 
developing  into  great  practical  benefit.  Through  it  the  Association  becomes  the 
aggressive  agent  of  its  members  against  professional  bank  criminals. 

Every  bank  in  the  United  States  should  co-operate  in  this  important  work. 
The  Association  recently  captured  the  forgers  who  swindled  a  bank  in  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  out  of  $20,000  in  gold.  It  has  ample  evidence  to  show  that  criminals  know 
who  are  members  of  the  Association  and  are  selecting  non-members  for  attack. 
Ten  burglaries  yielding  over  $50,000  were  recently  committed  against  non-mem¬ 
bers,  and  in  one  instance  a  burglary  was  abandoned  because  of  the  discovery  that 
the  bank  involved  was  a  member  of  the  Association. 

JAMES  R.  BRANCH,  Secretary.  EUGENE  H.  PULLEN,  President. 

JOSEPH  C.  HENDRIX,  Chairman  Execntive  Council. 

The  above  circular  created  a  sensation  in  the  United  States 
Senate  when  Senator  Butler,  of  North  Carolina  read  it  in  the  dis¬ 
cussion  of  his  bill  to  stop  the  issuing  of  bonds  without  consent  of 
Congress.  Many  Senators  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  asked  to 
see  it.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  and  went  to  Congress.  Thomas 
B.  Reed  was  so  scared  when  it  was  to  be  reported  for  final  passage 
that  he  adjourned  Congress,  because  it  would  stop  the  foregoing 
scheme  if  passed,  and  if  not,  the  voters  could  not  be  fooled. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


53 


MR.  CLEVELAND’S  COMEDY  OF  THE  BONDS. 

Was  it  ignorance  or  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  the  Adminis¬ 
tration  when  it  issued  the  sixty-two  million  dollars  of  bonds 
of  February,  1895,  by  the  private  deal  of  that  now  famous  contract 
between  Carlisle,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  Roths- 
childs-Morgan-Belmont  syndicate,  which  caused  some  very  sharp 
pointed  and  critical  articles  that  were  published  by  the  newspapers, 
irrespective  of  party  affiliation?  Mr.  Cleveland  was  wildly 
attacked  for  his  action  in  not  advertising  the  sale  of  said  bonds, 
and  thus  depriving  the  people  of  a  chance  to  bid.  The  bonds,  as 
a  consequence,  were  sold  privately  by  Mr.  Carlisle  to  his  friends, 
who  bought  them  at  their  own  figures.  Was  there  any  good 
reason  for  doing  this,  and  wherein  was  the  profit  to  the  people  in 
selling  bonds  which  were  worth  $120,  while  the  syndicate  paid  only 
$104f  ?  Who  was  the  loser  and  w^ho  got  the  benefit  ? 

Let  us  find  out  the  motives.  Mr.  Cleveland  had  failed  to  dic¬ 
tate  to  the  good  Democratic  Fifty -third  Congress  his  financial 
ideas  as  well  as  a  certain  plan  which  did  not  originate  with  him, 
but  emanated  from  his  advisers,  the  Bankers.”  These  plans 
consisted  since  the  war  in  trying  to  put  in  the  statutes  a  law 
giving  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  unlimited  power  to  issue 
bonds.  In  this  way  it  would  be  easier  for  the  bankers  to  bribe 
one  man,  the  Secretary,  than  to  fix  both  houses  of  Congress. 

When  Mr.  Cleveland  saw  that  there  was  no  more  chance  or 
hope  for  the  schemes  of  his  bankers  to  be  successful,  and  after  he 
had  done  his  best  (as  his  messages  show),  he  got  Mr.  Carlisle 
badly  scared  and  rattled.  Secretary  Carlisle  immediately  sent 
for  friends  to  help  him.  Rothschilds,  Belmont,  Morgan  and 
Stetson  went  to  Washington  and  entered  into  a  secret  contract 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  acquisition  of  coin 
bonds,  which  did  not  belong  to  Mr.  Carlisle  at  all,  but  were  the 
property  of  the  people.  Yet,  think,  that  the  United  States  pays 
good  salaries  to  Mr.  Cleveland  and  Mr.  Carlisle  to  watch  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  country  and  the  people.  The  result  was  that 
Mr.  Carlisle,  with  Mr.  Cleveland’s  consent,  of  course,  sold  to  his 
friends  these  bonds,  the  property  of  the  people,  at  the  loss  of 
nearly  $10,000,000.  This  is  nothing,  however,  in  comparison 
with  the  humiliation  imposed  upon  a  country  which  realizes  that 


54 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


it  was  considered  the  world  over,  on  account  of  that  transaction, 
as  worthless  and  resourceless.  Will  any  one  deny  that  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  and  Mr.  Carlisle  have  not  violated  the  moral  laws  (? )  (which 
are  above  all  artificial  laws).  No ;  certainly  not,  and  the  Fifty- 
fourth  Congress  ought  to  remind  them  of  their  duties.  Republi¬ 
cans,  Populists  and  Democrats  alike,  who  are  not  altogether  de¬ 
void  of  the  elementary  principle  of  patriotism,  who  have  at 
heart  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Senate  Com¬ 
mittee  appointed  to  investigate  the  issue  and  sale  of  all  the  bonds 
to  thoroughly  investigate  this  important  matter,  and  ask  Mr. 
Cleveland  the  reason  why  he  should  make  the  people  lose  such 
a  large  amount  of  money  by  said  queer  action,  and  if  no  satis¬ 
factory  reason  is  given  (Mr.Cleveland  and  Carlisle)  ought  to  be  pun¬ 
ished  for  it.  This  would  establish  a  good  precedent,  and  prevent, 
in  the  future,  the  President  and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  from 
violating  the  laws  entrusted  to  their  safe  guard. 

The  conduct  of  Mr.  Cleveland  as  a  President  is  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  magnificent  promises  of  fidelity  and  honesty 
made  by  him  when  he  said:  "'Public  office  is  a  Public  Trust; 
Office  Holders  are  the  Servants  of  the  People — not  their  Masters^  And 
also  in  his  first  inaugural  address  as  President  in  1884.  Here  are 
his  words  : 

“  Fellow  Citizens  : — In  the  presence  of  this  vast  assemblage  of  my  country¬ 
men  I  am  about  to  supplement,  and  seal  by  the  oath  which  I  shall  take,  the  mani¬ 
festation  of  the  will  of  a  great  and  free  people.  In  the  exercise  of  their  power,  and 
the  right  of  self-government,  they  have  committed  to  one  of  their  fellow-citizens  a 
supreme  and  sacred  trust,  and  he  here  consecrates  himself  to  their  service.  This 
impressive  ceremony  adds  little  to  the  solemn  sense  of  responsibility  with  which  I 
contemplate  the  duty  I  owe  to  all  the  people  of  the  land.  Nothing  can  relieve  me 
from  anxiety,  lest  hy  any  act  of  mine  their  interests  may  suffer,  and  nothing  is  needed 
to  strengthen  my  resolution  to  engage  every  faculty  and  effort  in  the  promotion  of 
their  welfare.  ’  ’ 

Such  are  the  very  words  pronounced  by  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  I 
have  already  shown  how  he  acted  wrongly  in  the  matter  of 
bonds. 

To  make  the  facts  more  plain,  let  us  make  an  illustration  of 
fact.  Suppose  that  a  wholesale  grocery  firm  has  an  agency  in 
charge  of  a  trusted  employee.  For  some  cause  the  firm  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  sell  its  goods  at  short  notice  so  as  to  obtain  ready  cash 
money.  This  is  not  the  case,  by  the  way,  with  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  which  has  the  right  to  “  coin  ”  (make)  money 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  tpie  World. 


55 


without  selling  any  bonds.  But  for  the  sake  of  argument  we 
proceed.  If  the  employee  at  the  agency,  who  is  supposed  to  be 
familiar  with  the  business  methods,  is  honest,  if  he  studies  the  in¬ 
terest  of  his  employer,  he  will  advertise  extensively  what  he  has 
to  sell,  so  as  to  get  the  people  to  bid  on  and  obtain  the  highest 
possible  prices  for  the  goods.  Now,  if  instead  of  doing  this,  he 
disposes  of  the  goods  'privately,  under  hand,  and  at  a  ridiculous 
figure  in  favor  of  his  friends,  will  the  firm  keep  him  in  its  em¬ 
ploy  ?  Common  sense  says  no.  Indeed  it  is  more  than  certain 
that  the  firm  will  discharge  him,  if  not  make  him  materially  re¬ 
sponsible  for  his  dishonest  transaction,  and  have  him  punished, 
unless  the  firm  is  composed  of  a  pack  of  fools.  In  the  matter  of 
this  $62,000,000  of  bonds,  this  is  exactly  what  Mr.  Cleveland 
has  done.  He  has  effected  the  sale  of  the  bonds  without  adver¬ 
tising,  for  fear  of  bidders,  so  as  to  give  undue  advantage  to  his 
friends,  the  Bankers.  It  was  claimed  and  denied  that  a  similar 
sale  had  been  planned  for  the  last  $100,000,000  bonds.  But  the 
indignation  and  pressure  of  the  press  and  the  people,  changed 
the  plan,  if  there  was  one,  and  Carlisle  advertised  for  bids  for  it, 
and  these  last  bonds  brought  nearly  three  times  as  much 
premiums  as  the  previous  ones,  which  were  longer  bonds,  and 
really  worth  more. 

WHY  THE  BONDS  WERE  NOT  ADVERTISED. 

The  writer  will  explain  why  Cleveland  and  Carlisle  sold  the 
bonds  to  their  friends.  These  bonds  will  become  matured  in 
thirty  years,  bearing  interest  at  3f  per  centum  per  annum.  This 
will  give  to  the  syndicate  who  bought  these  bonds  over  $2,000,- 
000  per  annum  for  interest  alone,  beside  the  large  bonus  of 
90  per  cent.,  according  to  the  National  Banking  Law,  which  I 
have  showed.  By  adding  this  90  per  cent,  which  the  law  gives 
them,  when  a  deposit  of  said  bonds  is  made  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  they  became  worth  $117,800,000.  For  this 
reason  the  bankers  make  their  deposit  as  soon  as  they  receive  the 
bonds.  Mr.  Cleveland,  in  his  message  of  January  28, 1895,  wanted 
Congress  to  increase  this  bonus  from  90  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent., 
so  as  to  make  his  friends  worth  not  only  the  $62,000,000,  plus 
90  per  cent.,  but  double  the  original  amount,  or  $124,000,000, 
for  the  term  of  thirty  years.  A  good  scheme,  was  it  not? 


56 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


HOW  YOU  m  ROBBED. 


THIS  ISTHE^CtiME  under  THlSx 

MAN  THAT  MY  SAFE  HAS  BEEN 
ROBBED!  WHO  HAS  SHOWN  THE  C# 
CpMBINATION  AND  OPENED  IT?‘ 
AND  THOSE  BIG  DOGS  DON'T 
WATCH  AT  ALL  I 
THE  tITTLE  ONE  15  O.K 

UNCLE  5AM 


\  opened  the  safe  TO  MY  FRIENDS 
ON  THE  SLY  ,  AND  THAT  LITTLE  DOG 
AWAKENED  THE  OLD  MAN  ?  BE  OUICK 
BOYS. TO  GETAWAY^ 


TO  UNCLE  SAM. 


You  had  better  watch  for  the  future  raids  of  those  fellows, 
because  they  intend  to  put  you  on  a  gold  standard,  and  you  will 
never  get  out  of  debt  to  them. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


57 


ARE  THE  BONDS  VALID? 

The  answer  is  emphatically  NO,  a  thousand  times  no  !  and 
this  is  as  plain  as  daylight.  The  contract  entered  into  by  Car¬ 
lisle  and  the  syndicate  of  bankers  is,  in  itself,  a  pure  piece  of 
effrontery.  For  instance,  one  of  the  clauses  of  this  contract 
reads  thus  : 

“Should  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  desire  to  offer  or  sell  bonds  of  the  United 
States  on  or  before  October  1st,  1895,  he  shall  offer  the  same  to  the  parties  of  the 
second  part  (the  syndicate)  ;  but  thereafter  he  shall  be  free  from  such  obligation  to 
the  parties  of  the  second  part.  ’  ’ 

Such  a  privilege  was  never  sold  or  granted  to  any  one.  If 
the  United  States  should  have  been  involved  in  a  war,  the 
country  would  have  been  thrown  into  a  regular  state  of  financial 
anarchy,  as  it  just  happened  later  during  the  Venezuela  im¬ 
broglio.  By  the  above  clause  the  outsiders  were  practically  shut 
out ;  it  is  probably  for  this  reason  alone  that  the  syndicate 
agreed  to  another  Jesuitic  promise  in  the  following  terms : 

<<  *  *  *  rpjjg  parties  of  the  second  part  (the  syndicate),  as  far  as  lies  in  their 
power,  will  exert  all  financial  influences,  and  will  make  all  legitimate  efforts  to 
protect  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  against  the  withdrawals  of  gold  pending 
the  complete  performance  of  this  contract.  ’  ’ 

This  kind  of  protection  is  more  than  amazing.  Think  of 
these  virtuous  (?)  and  disinterested  bankers  protecting  the  United 
States  Treasury  against  the  assaults  of  Wall  Street.  Truly 
Mr.  Cleveland  and  Carlisle  are  great  financiers  in  their  way ; 
they  remind  one  of  the  man  who  engaged  the  wolf  as  a 
shepherd  to  guard  his  sheep  and  intrusted  his  chickens  to  the  * 
good  care  of  Maitre  Reinard  (the  fox). 

When  the  United  States,  the  richest  country  in  the  world, 
has  come  to  the  point  that  its  credit  can  be  kept  up  only  by  men 
such  as  Rothschilds,  Belmont  and  Morgan,  the  American  people 
had  better  remain  silent  and  boast  no  more  of  their  great  wealth 
and  patriotism.  Our  credit  is  good,  however,  with  or  without 
the  gambling  scheme  established  by  Sherman,  and  providing  for 
an  unlawful  $100,000,000  gold  reserve.  Was  there  any  such 
reserve  in  1863,  1864,  1865  and  1866?  No;  the  country  was 
good  enough  to  support  its  credit.  The  administration  went 
back  to  Statutes  of  1862,  when  the  country  was  involved  in  a 


58 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


civil  war,  to  find  authority  for  its  acts.  Section  3,700  of  the 
Eevised  Statutes,  which  establishes  this  issue  of  bonds,  reads  as 
follows : 

“  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  purchase  coin  with  any  of  the  honda 
or  notes  of  the  United  States,  autliorized  at  such  rates  and  upon  such  terms  as  he 
may  deem  most  advantageous  to  the  public  interest.” 

Did  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  think  the  rates  he  obtained 
were  the  most  advantageous  for  public  interest,  and  did  he  ask 
if  any  one  else  wanted  to  offer  more?  Certainly  not ! 

This  is  not  all,  however,  as  the  law  invoked  by  Mr.  Cleve¬ 
land  had  been  practically  repealed  in  1866,  as  the  document 
printed  below  will  sufficiently  jirove  : 

In  the  Senate  April  9th,  1866. 

Ways  and  Means  Committee. 

Mr.  Fessenden  (Senator  from  Maine) — I  move  that  the  Senate  proceeds  to  the 
consideration  of  the  bill  (H.  R.  No.  207)  to  amend  “An  act  to  provide  ways  and 
means  to  support  the  Government,  ’  ’  ai3j)roved  March  3d,  1865. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  was  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole.  It  is  proposed  by  this  measure  to  enact  that  the  act  entitled  “  An  act  to 
provide  ways  and  means  to  support  the  Government,”  approved  March  3d,  1865, 
shall  be  extended  and  construed  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  at  his 
discretion,  to  receive  any  treasurey  notes  or  other  obligations  issued  under  any  act 
of  Congress,  whether  bearing  interest  or  not,  in  exchange  for  any  description  of 
bonds  authorized  by  the  act  to  which  this  is  an  amendment,  and  also  to  dispose  of 
bonds  authorized  by  that  act,  either  in  the  United  States  or  elsewhere,  to  such  an 
amount,  in  such  manner,  and  at  such  rates  as  he  may  think  advisable  for  lawful 
money  of  the  United  States,  or  for  any  treasury  notes,  certificates  of  indebtedness, 
or  other  representatives  of  value,  which  have  been  or  which  may  be  issued  under 
any  act  of  Congress,  the  proceeds  thereof  to  be  used  only  for  retiring  treasury  notes 
or  other  obligations  issued  under  any  act  of  Congress  ;  hut  it  is  not  to  be  construed  to 
authorize  any  increase  in  the  public  debt.^^ 

^‘When  the  last  sentence  to  the  Act  was  read,”  said  the  Con¬ 
gressional  records,  “Mr.  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  actually  jumped  to 
his  feet.”  And  no  wonder  !  as  this  law  was  the  inauguration  of 
a  policy  intended  to  put  a  stop  to  the  increase  of  the  public 
debt,  thwarting  at  the  same  time  the  gambling  schemes  of 
Honest  John,  who  has  kept  up  the  fight  without  interruption 
ever  since. 

The  bill  passed,  nevertheless,  with  the  following  votes  : 

Yeas — Messrs.  Antony,  Brown,  Buckalew,  Clark,  Conness,  Cowan,  Cragin^ 
Davis,  Doolittle,  Edmunds,  Fessenden,  Foster,  Grimes,  Guthrie,  Harris,  Johnson, 
Kirkwood,  Lane,  of  Indiana  ;  McDougall,  Morgan,  Morrill,  Nesmith,  Nye,  Poland, 
Pomeroy,  Riddle,  Sumner,  Trumbull,  Vanwinkle,  Willey,  Williams  and  Wilson 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


59 


Nays — Messrs.  Chandler,  Howard,  Howe,  Morton,  Eamsey,  Sherman  and 
Wad^7. 

Absent — Messrs.  Creswell,  Dixon,  Henderson,  Hendricks,  Stewart,  Wright 
and  Yates. 

Furthermore,  the  records  concerning  the  final  passage  of  the 
bill  amending  the  Act,  reads  thus  : 

House  of  Representatives, 

April  10th,  1866. 

Message  from  the  Senate  by  Mr.  Forney,  its  Secretary,  announced  that  the 
Senate  had  passed  a  joint  resolution  and  bills  (among  which  was  this  one)  of  the 
following  title,  in  which  the  concurrence  of  the  House  was  requested  :  An  act 
(H.  R.,  207)  to  amend  an  act  entitled  “An  act  to  provide  ways  and  means  to 
support  the  Government,  ’  ’  March  3d,  1865. 

Enrolled  Bill  Signed. 

Mr.  Trowbridge,  from  the  Committee  on  Enrolled  Bills,  reported  that  the  Com¬ 
mittee  had  examined  and  found  truly  enrolled  a  bill  (H.  R.,  207)  entitled,  etc.,  etc. 

Whereupon  the  Speaker  signed  the  same. 

House  of  Representatives, 

Friday,  April  13th,  1866. 

Message  from  the  President. — A  message  in  writing  was  received  from 
the  President  of  the  United  States  by  Mr.  William  G.  Moore,  his  Secretary  ;  also 
informing  the  House  that  he  had  approved  and  signed  bills  and  resolutions  of  the 
following  titles,  namely  :  An  act  (H.  R.  No.  207)  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  ways 
and  means  to  support  the  Government,  approved  March  3d,  1865. 

Is  it  possible  (?)  that  Mr.  Cleveland  or  Mr.  Carlisle  were 
ignorant  of  the  bill  and  law  which  condemns  positively  their 
present  financial  actions  and  schemes  ?  It  cannot  be  possible. 
As  to  John  Sherman,  he  does  not  want  to  remember,  and  this 
book  is  written  to  refresh  his  memory. 

There  is  no  question  or  doubt  that  the  public  debt  has  been 
increased  $200,000,000,  and  that  the  money  received  from  said 
bonds  has  been  used,  to  incur  the  current  expenses  of  the  govern, 
ment,  which  it  must  provide  for  its  support  by  tariff  or  tax  and 
not  by  bonding  the  country  and  the  people  forever  to  a  Gold 
Bugs’  ring.  The  writer  has  not  found  any  repeal  of  this  law^ 
and  it  will  be  better  for  the  people  to  not  invest  in  ’any  such 
bonds.  In  the  discussion  in  the  United  States  Senate  of  the 
Butler  Bond  Resolution,  Mr.  Brown,  Senator  from  Utah ;  Quay, 
of  Pennsylvania ;  Allen,  of  Nebraska,  and  several  others, 
said  that  the  bonds  were  invalid,  and  may  be  repudiated  at 
maturity. 


60 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


PANIC  OF  1893. 

The  readers  certainly  remember  the  panic  of  1893,  precipi¬ 
tated  upon  the  country  by  the  President,  in  pursuance  of  the 
bankers’  purpose  to  strike  the  final  blow  at  silver  in  order  to 
complete  their  work  by  compelling  the  repeal  of  the  purchasing 
clause  of  the  Sherman  Act.  What  was  the  pretext  upon  which 
that  repeal  was  strenuously  demanded  and  fiercely  enforced  (by 
patronage)?  It  was  said  that  the  purchases  of  silver  had  the  effect 
to  drive  gold  from  the  country,  was  this  true  ?  No  ;  it  was  either 
a  delusion  or  a  wilful  misrepresentation.  After  a  prolonged 
struggle,  during  which  foolish  men  even  talked  as  if  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  had  no  right  to  oppose  itself  to  the  will  of 
the  President  (and  there  are  yet  such  people  that  criticize  the 
Senate  for  wanting  to  remonetize  silver),  but  should  accept  the 
President’s  command  with  unquestioning  obedience,  the  repeal 
was  accomplished.  Now  note  the  result.  Here  are  some  figures 
taken  from  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  and,  therefore,  indisputably  authentic  (pages  307 
and  308  report  for  September,  1894). 

GOLD  EXPORTS  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  REPEAL  OF  THE  PURCHASE 

ACT. 

1893.  1894. 

Gross  exports  nine  months  to  September  30 . $76,278,514  $90,506,508 

Net  exports  nine  months  to  September  30 .  10,317,882  73,815,163 

Here  we  have  proof  that  during  the  first  nine  months  of  1894, 
after  repeal  of  the  silver  purchase  clause,  gold  left  the  country  more 
than  seven  times  faster  than  it  did  in  the  corresponding  period 
in  the  previous  year,  before  the  repeal  of  the  clause.  And  to-day, 
nearly  three  years  after  President  Cleveland  succeeded  in  accom¬ 
plishing  his  purpose,  the  condition  of  the  treasury,  with  respect 
to  gold,  is  far  worse  than  it  was  when  he  created  the  uproar. 

The  gold  bug  press,  the  bankers  and  the  Republican  party 
supporters  are  again  busily  telling  the  country  that  a  return  to 
bimetalism  would  bring  ruin.  Those  same  fellows  said  that 
after  the  repeal  of  the  Sherman  Act  (which  put  $4,000,000 
monthly  in  circulation),  good  times  and  prosperity  would  return. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


61 


Did  it  return  ?  No  ;  and  they  now  try  to  tell  the  same  old  story. 
Will  we  believe  it?  They  speak  so  much  of  sound  money,  yet 
themselves  ignore  what  sound  money  is,  growling  that  we  must 
have  sound  money  which  does  not  depreciate,  and  they  claim 
gold  as  the  only  money  which  will  not  depreciate.  Will  they 
oblige  the  people  by  explaining  what  was  the  matter  with  the 
fifty  million  dollars  of  Treasury  notes  issued  July  17th,  1861, 
which  Congress  on  March  17th,  1862,  made  a  full  legal  tender? 
Were  not  these  notes  worth  5  per  cent,  more  than  gold  as  soon  as 
they  were  made  full  legal  tender  ?  Yes  !  This  is  a  fact  to  remind 
them  that  if  gold  is  demonetized  it  will  fall  in  value. 

What  the  writer  believes  honest,  sound  money,  is  that  kind 
of  money  which  is  issued  by  the  government  in  good  faith, 
which  the  people  will  accept  without  discount  for  labor  and 
properties,  such  as  they  have  to  sell  or  exchange.  Such  money  is 
issued  by  the  government  to  the  people  on  their  security  with¬ 
out  having  the  bankers  to  monopolize  it  like  they  do  with  gold. 
Now  the  bankers  will  lend  any  one  gold  on  their  notes,  secured 
by  a  first  mortgage  on  their  property,  which  furnishes  the  neces¬ 
saries  of  life.  Gold,  on  the  contrary,  is  only  a  commodity,  as 
there  is  more  intrinsic  value  in  a  bushel  of  wdieat  than  all  the 
gold  in  existence  in  the  world,  when  one  comes  to  facts.  Is  it 
possible  to  eat  gold  ?  They  say,  also,  that  the  greenbacks  issued 
during  the  war  were  so  depreciated  that  they  fell  to  about  40  or 
50  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  for  this  reason  they  say  we  should 
not  have  greenbacks  or  50-cent-dollars.  The  money  sharks  will 
not  divulge  that  it  was  after  Mr.  Lincoln’s  example  of  starting 
the  coining  of  money  (legal  tenders),  backed  by  the  whole 
people  producing  the  necessaries  of  life, — wheat,  corn,  pork, 
beef,  cotton,  etc., — which  Europe,  especially  England,  must 
have,  under  the  penalty  of  starving,  they  saw  that  they  could 
not  have  the  monopoly  of  the  currency  that  was  going  to  take 
the  place  of  cowardly  gold,  which  would  surely  depreciate ;  it 
was  then  they  planned  the  gold  conspiracy. 

The  right  to  issue  money  (the  life  blood  of  nations)  under  the 
Constitution  is  vested  in  Congress,  and  the  Supreme  Court  affirms 
it,  but  Congress  has  transferred  this  great  power  to  National 
Banks,  authorizing  them  to  issue  bank  notes,  and  the  people  do 


62 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


take  said  notes  in  good  faith,  giving  their  honest  goods  or  labor 
for  it !  but  when  the  people  have  to  pay  to  the  government  some 
duties  on  their  imports,  the  goverment  tells  them  that  the 
notes  are  no  good  and  that  they  have  to  get  gold  to  pay  the 
duties  and  get  their  imports.  Why  is  it  that  the  government 
gives  to  the  bankers  authority  to  issue  bank  notes  when  the 
government  refuses  to  take  them  ? 

Now,  suppose,  I  would  give  authority  to  my  agent  to  issue  a 
note  to  you  for  |100,  promising  to  pay  you  the  same,  and  get 
your  goods.  You  take  it  in  good  faith,  and  you  do  not  look  on 
the  back  of  the  note  and  see  the  exception  clause  I  put  on  it, 
which  reads,  without  recourse  to  me. 

In  the  course  of  a  month  or  so  it  happens  that  you  have  to 
pay  me  some  dues,  rent,  etc.,  and  you  bring  the  note  that  my  agent 
gave  you  to  pay  it  with,  and  then  I  say  to  you  that  the  note  is  not 
good,  and  tell  you  that  you  have  to  get  gold  to  pay  me  the  dues. 
What  would  you  say  ?  Would  you  say  that  I  acted  honestly  ? 
No ;  you  would  say,  “  Why  did  you  allow  the  issuing  and  giving 
of  a  note  to  me  which  you  knew  was  no  good,  and  that  you 
would  not  take  back  ?  ”  And  for  good  reasons  you  could  call 
me  a  defrauder  and  swindler  and  obtainer  of  goods  on  false 
pretences. 

This  is  exactly  the  case  of  the  United  States  Government  and 
the  National  Bank  notes  which  the  people  take  in  good  faith  and 
deliver  their  honest  goods  for,  without  reading  the  swindling 
and  dishonest  clause  on  the  back  of  it.  Head  it  when  you  get 
one,  and  then  you  will  say  that  the  policy  of  the  Government  is 
beyond  a  doubt  dishonest  on  its  part  in  giving  the  National 
Bankers  authority  to  issue  Bank  Notes,  when  the  Government 
which  gives  the  authority  refuses  to  accept  the  notes  for  duties  on 
imports  and  interest  on  debts,  and  if  some  one  sounds  the  alarm  he 
is  called  a  crank.  There  have  been  many  cranks  in  this  world, 
such  as  Columbus,  Morse  and  many  others.  So  far  it  takes 
cranks  to  make  the  world  move,  and  the  crank  for  that  matter 
must  be  strongly  applied  to  the  financial  wheel  of  our  country^ 
or  before  long  the  finances  will  be  ground  to  pieces,  and  they  may 
think  then  that  the  crank  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  fool  with. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


63 


LOOTING  THE  TREASURY. 


First  Raid. 

A  statement  of  the  cash  in  the  United  States  Treasury  is 
issued  every  thirty  days  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  John 
G.  Carlisle.  This  document  is  public  property.  Write  or  ask 
for  one,  and  you  get  it,  for  any  month  you  name.  The  following 
statistical  facts  are  copied  from  these  reports : 

CASH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  TREASURY  FOR  DECEMBER,  1893. 

“Gold  coin  and  bars,  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  million,  three  hundred  and 
three  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars  and  thirteen  cents. 
Silver  coins  and  silver  bars,  five  hundred  million,  three  hundred  and  ten  thousand 
five  hundred  twenty-eight  dollars  and  seventy-six  cents.  Greenbacks,  gold,  coin  and 
silver  certificates  and  bank  notes,  sixty-two  million,  eight  hundred  and  forty  six 
thousand,  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents.  Other  forms 
counted  as  money,  fifteen  million,  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand,  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty-four  dollars  and  forty-eight  cents.  Total,  1736,614,599.03.” 

With  the  above  vast  amount  of  money  in  the  treasury,  the 
next  month,  February,  1894,  Grover  Cleveland,  without  law,  or 
any  authority,  or  any  need,  except  that  which  is  and  always  has 
been  exercised  by  tyrants — usurpation — ordered  John  G.  Carlisle 
to  design,  engrave,  stamp  and  print  fifty  million  dollars  of 
untaxed  United  States  bonds,  with  an  interest  charge* of  twenty 
million  dollars.  There  are  two  classes  of  our  people  who  endorse 
this  proceeding,  first,  the  officials  to  the  deal,  bankers,  money 
loaners,  millionaires,  pawn  shops  and  plunderers  of  the  people, 
and  second,  FOOLS,  those  persons  who  are  fools  for  the  want  of 
ordinary,  common  sense  on  financial  questions  ! 

Second  Raid. 

CASH  IN  THE  TREASURY,  OCTOBER,  1894. 

“  Gold  coin  and  bars,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  million,  six  hundred  and 
thirteen  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  dollars  and  seventy-three  cents. 
Silver  coins  and  bars,  five  hundred  and  six  million,  eighteen  thousand,  seven  hun¬ 
dred  and  fourteen  dollars  and  seventy-four  cents.  Greenbacks,  gold,  coin  and 
silver  certificates  and  bank  notes,  one  hundred  and  six  million,  five  hundred  and 
seven  thousand,  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  and  forty  cents.  Making  a 
grand  total  of  $738,139,564.81'. 

With  the  vaults  bursting  with  the  above-named  grades  of 
money,  Grover  Cleveland,  for  the  second  time,  without  law  or 


64 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


authority,  ordered  the  next  month,  November,  1894,  Carlisle  to 
print  and  sell  to  the  Stewart  Syndicate,  fifty  million  dollars. 
United  States  bonds,  running  thirty  years,  with  an  interest 
charge  of  over  sixty  million  dollars. 

Endorsers  of  this  stupendous  steal — first,  the  whining  syco¬ 
phants  in  official  life,  the  thirteen  New  York  hanks  that  got  the 
bonds,  at  a  cost  of  a  little  more  than  ten  cents  on  the  dollar,  and 
leading  daily  papers  owned  by  the  bankers  and  bond  buyers, 
and  second,  the  American  peasantry  who  vote  the  Democratic 
or  Republican  ticket  because  dad  did  so,  and  will  not  think  for 
themselves. 

Third  Raid. 

CASH  IN  THE  TREASURY,  DECEMBER,  1894. 

“  Gold  coin  and  bars,  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  million,  six  hundred  and 
six  thousand,  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  and  five  cents.  Silver  coins  and 
bars,  five  hundred  and  four  millions,  forty-five  thousand,  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  dollars  and  forty  cents.  Greenbacks,  gold,  coin  and  silver  certificates  and  bank 
notes,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  million,  nine  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand, 
seven  hundred  and  fifty-nine  dollars  and  seventy-two  cents.  Other  forms,  used  as 
money,  sixteen  million,  one  hundred  aad  ninety-seven  thousand,  seven  hundred 
and  nineteen  dollars  and  forty-three  cents.  Grand  total.  8782,764,289.60.” 

With  this  incomprehensible  sum  of  money  in  the  possession 
of  Carlisle,  Grover  Cleveland  and  his  secretary  invites  the  most 
infamous  Tories  on  American  soil,  the  agents  of  Nathan  Roths¬ 
childs  &  Co.,  from  Wall  Street,  and,  after  being  closeted  with 
these  brigands  for  three  days,  in  the  White  House,  in  rooms  and 
halls  consecrated  by  the  precious  foot-prints  of  our  illustrious 
dead,  and  after  this  secret  counsel,  boldly,  brutishly  and  defiantly 
informed  the  American  people,  through  a  lot  of  venal,  lunk¬ 
heads  in  Congress  that  he  had  sold  $65,400,000  untaxed  bonds, 
running  thirty  years,  at  104  on  the  dollar,  when  their  market 
price  that  day  was  120.  Net  profit  on  the  deal  was  $9,984,000. 
Proof  is  overwhelming  and  conclusive  that  this  amount  was 
divided  between  the  clique  and  their  associates.  Amount 
of  interest  to  be  collected  on  this  deal  will  foot  up  about  eight 
million  dollars.  As  these  English  Tories  wave  their  victorious 
red  flag  and  flaunt  their  red  suits  under  God’s  beautiful  sunlight, 
the  American  patriot  falls  on  his  knees,  weeping  and  praying,  as 
he  hears  this  British  octopus,  crushing  the  bones  of  that  gallant 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


65 


band,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  their  children,  and 
into  this  charnal  sepulcher  of  horrors  hurling  with  relentless 
fury  the  poor  old  bones  of  the  Confederate  soldier,  his  widows 
and  orphan  children. 

Fourth  Raid. 

CASH  IN  THE  TREASURY,  DECEMBER,  1895. 

“  The  December  report  of  Carlisle  shows  $787,678,447.62  in  the  Treasury,  of 
which  $113,198,707.97  was  gold  coin  and  bars,  and  $157,567,096.78  was  in  paper 
money,  the  greater  part  of  the  latter  being  greenbacks. 

While  patriots  slept,  the  looters  plotted,  and  at  the  dead  hour 
of  midnight,  in  January,  1896,  the  announcement  was  flashed 
over  the  wires  that  $100,000,000  of  untaxed  bonds  had  been  tied 
on  the  necks  of  the  great  American  peasantry,  with  an  interest 
charge  of  four  million  dollars  per  year  for  the  next  thirty  years. 
Men  who  will  submit  to  such  outrages  are  no  longer  free  men, 
but  SLAVES. 

With  such  a  large  amount  of  money  in  the  treasury  and  not 
knowing  what  to  do  with  it,  yet  the  administration  goes  on  and 
issues  bonds  to  obtain  more  money.  This  method  of  financiering 
reminds  one  of  a  farmer  who  had  his  farm  clear  of  mortsfaires 
and  plenty  of  money  in  his  safe,  which  he  had  no  place  to  invest 
or  use,  yet  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  more  money,  mortgaged  his 
farm  and  then  locked  it  up,  with  the  other  mone}",  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  keeping  up  his  credit,  which  (in  the  first  place),  was  good. 
The  interest  on  the  mortgage  finally  swallowed  up  his  farm. 
Now  this  is  exactly  what  the  present  administration  has  done. 

The  bonds  are  obtained  with  the  people’s  money,  to  wit :  The 
Secretary  has  authority,  under  the  National  Banking  Laws,  to 
designate  any  National  Bank  as  a  U.  S.  depository,  and  he  de¬ 
posits  with  said  banks  treasury  notes  and  greenbacks.  When  the 
scheme  is  to  be  worked,  the  favorite  banks  will  prance  on  the  sub¬ 
treasury  in  New  York  and  withdraw  gold  for  these  notes  and 
lower  the  gold  reserve.  Then  the  cry,  “Your  credit  is  running 
down”  is  started.  “  Issue  bonds.”  They  are  issued,  and  our  gold 
is  paid  in  again.  The  bankers  draw  90  per  cent,  in  greenbacks 
and,  by  adding  10  per  cent.,  he  is  able  to  pay  back  the  amount  of 
original  deposit  made  by  the  Secretary,  until  another  raid  is 
planned  so  that  the  bankers  can  get  more  bonds. 


GG 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


CLEVELAND’S  SPECIAL  MESSAGE  OF  JAN.  28,  1895.  ^ 

He  is  not  satisfied  with  regular  messages  to  carry  out  the 
bankers’  plans  and  shoots  in  special  ones.  This  one  sounds  like 
and  corroborates  the  (panic  bulletin)  bankers’  secret  circulars  of 
March  3d,  1893.  I  wonder  if  it  originated  from  the  same  source  ? 
All  the  bankers  in  the  country  liked  the  message.  See  what  the 
President  of  the  American  Bankers’  Association  said  about  it. 

“  With  natural  resources  unlimited  in  variety  and  productive  strength,  and 
with  a  people  whose  activity  and  enterprise  seek  only  a  fair  opportunity  to 
achieve  national  success  and  greatness,  our  progress  should  not  be  checked  by  a 
financial  policy  and  a  heedless  disregard  of  sound  monetary  laws ,  nor  should 
the  timidity  and  fear  which  they  engender  stand  in  the  way  of  our  prosperity. 

The  real  trouble  which  confronts  us  consists  in  a  lack  of  confidence,  wide¬ 
spread,  and  constantly  increasing,  in  the  continuing  ability  or  disposition  of  the 
Government  to  pay  its  obligations  in  gold.  This  lack  of  confidence  grows  to 
some  extent  out  of  the  palpable  and  apparent  embarrassment  attending  the 
efforts  of  the  Government  under  existing  laws  to  procure  gold,  and  to  a  greater 
extent  out  of  the  impossibility  of  either  keeping  it  in  the  Treasury  or  cancelling 
obligations  by  its  expenditure  after  it  is  obtained.  ” 

Do  not  be  scared  Mr.  President,  our  credit  is  good,  the 
resources  are  here  and  are  ours  (you  stated)  and  why  should 
we  give  them  away  to  Shylocks  as  interest  on  bonds.  Please 
see  section  (8)  article  (5)  of  our  constitution,  which  says 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  coin  money  and  regulate  the 
value  thereof. 

Mr.  President  if  you  do  not  know  what  you  are  doing  or 
talking  about,  you  had  better  give  up  the  job,  and  do  not  try 
to  tell  65,000,000  people  that  bonds,  mortgages,  or  interest 
paying  debts  are  good  things  to  have.  Yes,  they  may  be  for 
the  bankers,  but  how  about  the  people? 

The  only  way  left  open  to  the  Government  for  procuring  gold  is  by  the  issue 
and  sale  of  United  States  bonds.  The  only  bonds  that  can  be  so  issued  were 
authorized  nearly  twenty -five  years,  and  are  not  well  calculated  to  meet  our 
present  needs.  Among  other  disadvantages  they  are  made  payable  in  coin 
instead  of  specifically  in  gold. 

Conditions  are  certainly  supervening  tending  to  make  the  bonds  which  may 
be  issued  to  replenish  our  gold  less  useful  for  that  purpose. 

An  adequate  gold  reserve  is  in  all  circumstances  absolutely  essential  to  the 
upholding  of  our  public  credit  and  to  the  maintenance  of  our  high  national 
character. 

Our  gold  reserve  has  again  reached  such  a  stage  of  diminution  as  to  require 
its  speedy  reinforcement. 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


G7 


The  aggravations  that  must  inevitably  follow  present  conditions  and  methods 
will  certainly  lead  to  misfortune  and  loss,  not  only  to  our  national  credit  and 
prosperity  and  to  financial  enterprise,  but  to  those  of  our  people  who  seek 
employment  as  a  means  of  livelihood  and  to  those  whose  only  capital  is  their 
daily  labor. 

I  suggest  that  the  bonds  be  issued  in  denominations  of  twenty  and  fifty 
dollars  and  their  multiples,  and  that  they  bear  interest  at  a  rate  not  exceeding 
three  per  cent  per  annum.  I  do  not  see  why  they  should  not  be  payable  fifty 
years  from  their  date.  We  of  the  present  generation  have  large  amounts  to  pay 
if  we  meet  our  obligations,  and  long  bonds  are  most  salable.  The  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  might  well  be  permitted,  at  his  discretion,  to  receive  on  the  sale  of 
bonds  the  legal  tender  and  Treasury  notes  to  be  retired,  and,  of  course,  when 
they  are  thus  retired  or  redeemable  in  gold  thej^  should  be  cancelled. 

These  bonds,  under  existing  laws,  could  be  deposited  by  national  banks 
as  security  for  circulation  ;  and  such  banks  should  be  allowed  to  issue  circula 
tion  up  to  the  face  value  of  these  or  any  other  bonds  so  deposited. 

As  a  constant  means  for  the  maintenance  of  a  reasonable  supply  of  gold  in 
the  Treasury,  our  duties  on  imports  should  be  paid  in  gold,  allowing  all  other 
dues  to  the  Government  to  be  paid  in  any  other  form  of  money. 

Mr.  Cleveland  is  heart  and  sonl  for  all  the  schemes  and 
traps  of  the  Bankers,  and  John  Sherman,  to  give  the 
Bankers  a  right  to  rob  the  people  in  a  country  of  equal  right 
(?)  to  all  and  privilege  to  none. 


BA.’NKERS  LIKE  THE  MESSAGE, 


The  message  is  sound  and  straightforward.  Its  suggestions  are  in  accord 
with  the  Herald's  popular  loan  proposition  and  meet  my  ideas  exactly.  If  the 
suggestions  are  carried  out  by  Congress  the  remedy  for  financial  ills  is  at  hand. 

This  is  what  Mr.  E.  H.  Pullen  (chairman)  of  the  American 
Bankers’  Association  said  about  the  message  :  Mr.  Pullen  is 
the  gentleman  that  denied  and  said  that  the  circular  sent  out 
by  the  American  Bankers’  Association  to  all  the  Bankers  on 
March  3d,  1893,  the  one  that  Mr.  R.  J.  Sovereign  read  at  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas,  was  a  lie  made  of  whole  cloth  (was  it  ?) 

I  indorsed  the  popular  loan  plan  from  the  moment  the  Herald^  proposed  it 
and  still  insist  that  it  is  the  practical  solution  of  the  financial  problem.  —  Presi¬ 
dent  Simmons,  Fourth  National  Bank. 

I  approve  every  word  of  President  Cleveland’s  message.  He  has  taken  the 
right  stand  in  the  matter,  and  shows  how  imperative  is  the  need  of  the  popular 
loan,  as  advised  long  ago  by  the  Herald.  — Cashier  Leech,  National  Union  Bank. 

Double  leaded  editorials,  N.  Y.  Herald^  Jan.  29th,  1895. 


68 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


McKinley  endorses  Cleveland. 

In  answer  to  the  Nomination  Notification  Committee,  Mr. 
McKinley,  the  Republican  nominee  for  Rresident,  endorses 
Cleveland  for  having  issued  bonds  in  time  of  peace.  Certainly 
he  endorses  Cleveland.  Why  not?  Cleveland  is  a  Mugwump 
and  adopted  the  Republican  financial  policy.  There  is  no  differ¬ 
ence  on  this  policy  between  Cleveland  and  John  Sherman.  They 
agree  in  enriching  themselves  and  their  friends  at  the  expense 
of  the  people.  Sherman  said  in  the  Senate  that  there  was  not 
the  least  doubt  about  how  Mr.  McKinley  stood  on  the  money 
question.  That  he,  as  a  Republican,  was  pledged  to  the  Repub¬ 
lican  policy  (that  of  contracting  the  currency),  and  Sherman 
also  had  the  courage  to  say  i  in  open  debate  in  the  Senate 
that  he  would  rather  take  the  last  shirt  from  the  backs  of  the 
people  in  order  to  pursue  the  Republican  policy  of  keeping  up 
the  credit  of  the  country.  I  wonder  if  Sherman  would  give  his 
last  shirt  to  the  bankers  ?  He  was  a  poor  man,  but  now  he  is  a 
multi-millionaire.  How  did  he  make  it  ?  Grover  Cleveland  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  worked  for  $4  a  week  for  Rodgers,  Bowen 
&  Rodgers  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  wanted  to  go  West.  Then  the 
very  West  and  South,  which  he  antagonizes  an^  calls  wild,  pro¬ 
duced  the  greater  part  of  the  wealth  that  has  been  wrongly 
appropriated  for  the  enrichment  of  the  few.  He,  too,  is  now 
a  multi-millionaire.  How  did  he  get  it? 

McKinley  is  poor  and  a  little  popular,  and  the  Bankers  pick 
him  up  to  use  him.  Hanna  has  spent  $150,000,  and  will  spend 
more.  Why  ?  The  readers  can  guess  that  for  themselves.  Here 
is  what  the  Philadelphia  Item,  a  silver  Republican  paper,  says 
editorially,  on  July  2,  1896: 

NOW  THE  PEOPLE  KNOW  WHAT  TO  EXPECT. 

“  To  the  formal  notice  announcing  the  choice  of  the  National  Republican  Con¬ 
vention,  Mr.  McKinley  replied  :  ‘  The  complaint  of  the  people  is  not  against  the 

Administration  for  borrowing  money  and  issuing  bonds  to  preserve  the  credit  of 
the  country,  but  against  the  ruinous  policy  which  made  this  necessary.’ 

“  That  remark  at  once  puts  Mr.  McKinley  in  the  boots  of  President  Cleveland, 
so  far  as  the  endless  chain  business  of  more  bond  issues  for  gold  is  concerned. 

“  It  is  an  open  declaration  that  when  the  time  comes,  he,  like  President  Cleve¬ 
land,  will  issue  bonds  to  get  gold  ‘  to  preserve  the  credit  of  the  country.  ’ 

“  For,  he  says,  that  has  never  been  the  complaint  of  the  people. 

What  rank  nonsense  ! 

So  here  the  public  has  it  in  plain  language.  Mr.  iMcIyinle^",  if  he  gets  tbe 


69 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


chance,  proposes  to  continue  the  very  tactics  of  President  Cleveland  to  make  this 
country  poorer  by  an  additional  bonded  indebtedness  in  times  of  peace. 

“  The  Item  informs  Mr.  McKinley  that  there  has  not  existed  under  the  present 
Administration  any  ‘  ruinous  policy  ’  which  has  made  the  recent  bond  issues  nec¬ 
essary.  If  Congress  spent  more  money  than  its  appropriations  called  for,  it  was 
not  the  business  of  the  President  to  issue  bonds  therefor.  And  whatever  ‘  ruinous 
policy  ’  there  is  in  the  Administration  adhering  to  an  exclusive  gold  standard,  is 
all  of  its  own  unlawful  and  unnecessary  making.  ’  ’ 

THE  BANKERS  MEAN  WHAT  THEY  SAY. 

The  public  must,  in  self-defense,  do  their  own  banking. 

In  conformity  wdth  “The  Item’s”  recent  editorials,  explaining  how  the  money 
lenders  are  urging  panic  measures  to  intimidate  borrowers  and  the  public  to  vote 
for  a  gold  monometalic  ticket,  is  the  general  press  dispatch  that  the  banks  of 
Louisville,  Ky.,  have  already  taken  a  bold  stand,  by  a  mutual  agreement,  “to 
refuse  to  lend  any  money  to  any  man  who  favors  free  silver.  It  makes  no  differ¬ 
ence  who  he  is,  he  cannot  get  a  cent  at  any  Louisville  bank  on  any  terms  or 
security.” 

“  Several  Louisville  banks  sent  for  some  of  their  pronounced  silver  patrons, 
and  requested  them  to  withdraw  their  accounts.  There  was  no  other  reason  given 
for  this  conduct  than  the  statement :  ‘You  are  trying  to  destroy  our  business, 
therefore,  we  protect  ourselves.  We  desire  no  further  business  with  you.’  ” 

This  may  prove  staggering  information  for  a  good  many  honest  people  in  this 
city,  who,  heretofore,  have  looked  upon  the  managers  of  influential  banks  as  above 
reproach  in  honor  and  integrity. 

‘  ‘  The  Item  ’  ’  is  very  much  mistaken  in  estimation  of  the  American  character, 
if  it  turns  out  that  this  form  of  intimidation  does  not  raise  a  revolt  in  the  public 
mind  that  will  teach  these  money  lenders  a  lesson  they  will  not  quickly  forget. 

There  w^as  a  law  recently  passed  at  Washington,  making  it  a  crime  for  sundry 
corporations  to  unite  in  ‘  ‘  restraint  of  trade.  ’  ’ 

If  the  conduct  of  these  Louisville  bankers  is  not  a  “restraint  of  trade”  of 
the  largest  dimensions,  it  is  not  known  here  what  to  call  it. 

That  our  government  should  put  the  exclusive  control  of  all  money  loaned  to 
trade  and  industry  in  the  hands  of,  as  is  here  shown,  unscrupulous  people,  who  do 
not  hesitate  to  use  it  to  intimidate  our  people  into  voting  for  more  profits  to 
money  lenders,  is  monstrous  enough  in  itself  ;  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  this 
same  power  was  used  in  1893,  and  is  now  threatening  again  to  extend  its  influence 
in  the  same  way  over  the  entire  country,  it  at  once  becomes  a  crime  of  the  first 
magnitude. 

This  government  acts  the  part  of  a  fool  which  puts  its  entire  resources  of  loans 
of  money  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  those  who  use  it  to  oppress  its  people.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  need  or  excuse  for  it,  whatever. 

From  the  Memphis  Evening  Star  (Rep.)  May  8,  1894. 

The  Devil’s  favorite  combination  :  Wall  Street,  John  Sherman  and  Grover 
Cleveland  *  *  * 

John  Sherman  will  never  be  happy  until  the  Government  orders  another  bond 
issue,  says  the  Arkansas  Gazette^  and  then  he  and  Cleveland  wdll  be  in  a  condition 
to  repose  side  by  side  on  the  same  dowmy  couch,  the  wolf  and  the  leech,  so  to 
speak,  will  be  room-mates. 


70 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


OUR  COUNTRY’S  DEFECTIVE  POLICY. 

Our  present  National  Banking  System  was  established  by 
the  Government,  presumably  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  We 
have  seen  the  favored  institution,  after  being  nurtured  to  life,  fix 
their  poisonous  fangs  into  the  breast  of  their  common  mother,  and 
attempt  to  destroy  her  life.  With  the  proverbial  weakness  of  a 
mother,  the  United  States  has  borne  her  wrong  in  silence.  She  has 
forgiven  the  ingratitude  of  her  children,  and  has  drawn  them 
closer  to  her  lacerated  bosom.  But  our  country  has  other  children 
besides  these  favored  vipers,  and  they  are  injured  by  her  unreas¬ 
onable  tenderness  and  partiality.  Yet  those  other  children  in 
their  affection  for  the  mother  have  silently  endured  their  unjust 
treatment.  They  have  seen  that  portion  of  her  children  who 
contribute  nothing  to  her  support  inflict  burdensome  debts  upon 
those  who  toil,  and  who  alone  have  supported  her,  and  supplied 
her  chest  with  millions  which  were  appropriated  for  the  benefit  of 
the  ungrateful  Bankers,  who  want  everything  to  the  detriment 
of  others. 

That  the  present  banking  system  is  defective  is  demonstrated 
by  the  panics  instituted  which  have  cost  the  country  in  round 
numbers,  to  wit,  $228,000,000  in  1873,  averaging  about  $200,- 
000,000  a  year  for  six  years  during  the  adjustment  to  the  specie 
basis  ;  then  again  below  $100,000,000.  In  1883,  $226,000,000, 
dropping  to  $124,000,000  the  next  year.  Finally  in  1893  the  loss 
amounted  to  $550,000,000,  making  a  grand  total  of  $2*,628, 000,000 
in  all,  and  not  accounting  for  the  loss  for  the  period  between  the 
years  1885  to  1892  inclusive,  which  were  enormous.  The  only 
remedy  to  the  situation  consists  in  the  Government  establishing 
banks  of  its  own  on  the  post  office  plan,  and  the  Government  to 
be  the  only  authority  to  issue  money  (according  to  the  Constitu¬ 
tion,  which  has  been  violated  by  a  Republican  Congress  in 
transferring  this  great  power  to  issue  money  to  National 
Banks,  which  the  Constitution  itself  forbids,  and  does  not  say 
that  Congress  may  transfer  said  power).  Tlie  Government  can¬ 
not  fail,  on  account  of  its  own  resources,  and  therefore  panics 
could  not  be  possible.  The  people  would  borrow  from  the  peo¬ 
ple,  and  this  would  lessen  the  rate  of  interest.  Should  a  high 
rate  of  interest  become  necessary  the  amount  paid  would  return  to 
the  people. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


71 


A  DEFECTIVE  BANKING  SYSTEM. 

Admitted  by  the  Bankers  themselves  in  their  Convention  at 
Chicago  in  1885.  To  prove  that  the  present  National  Banking 
System  is  defective,  I  will  conclusively  show  by  the  state¬ 
ment  and  testimony  of  the  Bankers  themselves,  and  therefore 
submit  to  the  readers  herewith  the  following  table  and  figures 
compiled  by  W.  W.  Flannagan,  Cashier  of  the  Commercial  Na¬ 
tional  Bank  of  New  York.  It  was  submitted  by  Mr.  Flannagan 
to  the  Convention  of  the  American  Bankers’  Association,  which 
was  held  at  Chicago,  September  23rd  and  24th,  1885,  and  was 
adopted  and  ordered  printed  with  the  proceedings  of  the  conven¬ 
tion.  It  is  now  preserved  at  the  Boston  New  Public  Library.  It 
is  entitled,  Security  for  National  Bank  Depositors.” 

PEOPLE’S  LOSS  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  NATIONAL  BANK 

FAILUEES. 

Compiled  by  W.  W.  Flannagan,  Cashier  of  the  Commercial 
National  Bank  of  New  York,  therefore  cannot  be  disputed,  because 
they  were  adopted  at  the  Bankers’  Convention. 


PROVED  CLAIMS  CLAIMS  REMAINING 

YEARS  OF  AGAINST  INSOLVENT  UNPAID  OR 

FAILUEES.  NATIONAL  BANKS.  DEPOSITORS’  LOSS. 

1865  .  $122,809  $51,277 

1866  .  1,103,699  871,192 

1867  .  3,358,103  889,991 

1868  .  307,804  82,787 

1869  .  239,836  53,125 

1870  .  . 

1871  .  2,463,704  . 

1872  .  515,648  124,587 

1873  .  6,677,712  1,587,201 

1874  .  331,997  144,753 

1875  .  2,366,818  1,725,135 

1876  .  1,332,410  365,384 

1877  .  4,745,541  857,825 

1878  .  2,010,294  352,773 

1879  .  465,685  32,799 

1880  .  778,966  1,081,314 

1881  .  2,703,285  •  2,633,230 

1882  . 3,148,022  . 

1883  .  522,332  . 

1884  .  5,285,815  . 


Total . 38,479,810  Total .  14,776,659 


72 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


“  Twenty-five  years  ago,”  said  Mr.  Flannagan  in  the  first  paragraph,  ‘‘if  it  had 
])eeii  proposed  in  the  abstract  to  organize  a  systlieni  of  banking  whereby  the  circu¬ 
lating  notes  of  banks,  no  matter  where  issued,  should  pass  at  par  from  Maine  to 
Florida,  and  that  not  only  the  notes  of  solvent  banks  should  pass  current,  but  the 
notes  of  insolvent  banks  as  well,  the  most  experienced  and  wisest  banker,  under 
the  system  then  in  vogue,  would  have  pronounced  it  impossihle. 

“Familiar  as  we  are  with  the  National  Banking  System,  which  has  gradually 
developed  this  result,  there  appears  to  us  nothing  strange  in  this  state  of  facts,  and 
we  only  wonder  that  we  endured  the  evils  of  the  prior  system  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  Under  the  State  System  (with  the  exception  of  New  York,  Louisiana  and 
Massachusetts),  we  had  no  real  security  for  circulation,  and  to  keep  the  issues  of 
the  banks  afloat  seemed  to  be  the  difficulty  of  the  managers  of  that  day,  they 
experienced  no  difficulty  in  the  payment  of  their  depositors  as  long  as  provision 
was  made  for  their  circulation,  for,  with  the  latter,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
they  managed  to  prevent  the  former  feeling  any  uneasiness.  Bank  failures  came 
from  inability  to  redeem  circulation — not  from  inability  to  pay  depositors.  Now, 
under  the  National  Banking  System,  failures  never  come  from  inability  to  redeem 
circulating  notes,  but  exclusively  from  inability  to  pay  depositors. 

“  To-day  the  practical  question  arises  :  Can  we  not  take  another  step  forward 
in  the  improvement  of  the  National  Banking  System,  wherel>y  the  same  confidence 
which  now  exists  in  the  mind  of  the  holder  of  a  note,  shall  also  exist  in  the  mind 
of  a  depositor,  and  that  virtually  the  one  shall  be  equally  secured  with  the  other. 
This  being  done,  we  shall  have  no  more  runs  on  National  Banks,  no  more  wild 
panics  by  reason  of  the  fear  of  loss  therefrom,  no  Clearing  House  loan  certificates, 
no  needless  failures.  ’  ’ 

Here  we  have  the  conclusive  proof  and  facts  showing  that  the 
present  banking  system  is  defective,  and  that  the  depositors  must 
take  the  chances  on  receiving  back  their  deposits,  because  the 
banker  can  fail  when  he  wants  to,  and  makes  money  out  of  such 
failure.  Mr.  Flannagan,  in  continuation,  wanted  the  repeal  of 
the  tax  on  National  Bank  circulation  as  the  only  remedy  and  so¬ 
lution  of  the  defect,  which,  of  course,  was  accepted  and  adopted  by 
his  associate  bankers  in  the  convention.  The  writer  would  like 
to  ask  Mr.  Flannagan,  or  any  other  National  Banker,  how  the  re¬ 
peal  of  the  tax  on  National  Bank  circulation  would  stop  and  cure 
the  mismanagement  and  frauds  committed  by  dishonest  Bankers  ? 
Let  them  come  to  the  front  and  prove  how  the  repeal  of  the  tax 
would  stop  the  wild  speculations  and  gambling  on  stock  exchanges 
and  race  horses,  real  estate  deals,  etc.,  with  the  depositor’s  money. 
No !  dishonesty  will  continue  until  the  Government  establishes 
banks  of  its  own,  and  honesty  takes  care  of  the  people’s  money. 

Why  did  the  money  lenders  of  the  world  w^ant  to  get  hold  of 
American  resources  ?  They  looked  for  a  fresh,  new  field  and  found 
in  the  United  States  a  bonanza.  Europe  was  heavily  mortgaged 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


73 


and  they  did  not  care  to  lend  much  more  money  there.  This  is  the 
reason  why  American  bonds  are  preferred  and  in  great  demand. 
The  following  figures  may  be  of  interest  : 

“  If  the  richness  of  a  country  should  be  measured  by  the  amount  of  its  national 
debt,  Europe  must  be  immensely  wealthy.  The  following  may  prove  interesting  in 
this  respect.  The  figures  represent  francs,  the  value  of  which  is  based  on  the  twenty- 
franc  gold-piece  :  England  owes  41,500,000,000  ;  France,  30,481,158,926  ;  Austria, 
15,875,611,153.20  centimes  ;  Germany,  14,366,955,667.50  centimes  ;  Italy,  11,000,- 
000,000 ;  Spain,  5,000,000,000,  of  which  1,342,640  are  due  to  government 
employes  ;  Turkey,  2,600,000,000  ;  Belgium,  2,000,000,000  ;  Roumania,  1,000,- 
000,000  ;  Greece,  730,979,175  ;  Portugal,  668,205,869  ;  Sweden  and  Norway, 
582,677,236.78  centimes  :  Servia,  340,692,542  ;  Denmark,  227,661,982  ;  Switzer¬ 
land,  64,546,821  ;  Luxemburg,  16,500,000  ;  Montenegro,  2,500,000.  Neglecting 
smaller  countries,  which  are  also  largely  indebted,  this  makes  a  grand  total  of 
126,000,000,000,  which  bear  at  4  per  cent,  an  interest  amounting  to  4,040,000,000 
francs  yearly.  The  taxpayers  have  to  foot  the  bill,  as  a  matter  of  course.  ’  ’ 

THE  ENLARGEMENT  OF  DEBT  OF  OQR  COUNTRY  BY 

FALLING  PRICES. 

But  there  is  another  and  more  serious  consequence  of  the  persistent  decline  of 
prices,  a  consequence  to  which  the  friends  of  the  British  gold-standard  are  quite 
averse  to  alluding  in  their  discussions  of  the  subject.  As  prices  go  down  the  di¬ 
mensions  of  all  fixed  obligations  experience  enlargement.  The  whole  world  is  in 
debt.  In  our  own  country,  in  1890,  the  State,  national,  city  and  school  debts 
amounted  in  round  numbers  to  $2,000,000,000.  The  mortgage  debt  u^Don  real  es¬ 
tate  reached  the  sum  of  $6,000,000,000.  Besides,  there  are  the  railroad  debts  and 
the  personal  and  other  debts,  so  that  it  may  not  be  an  exaggeration  to  assert  that  the 
indebtedness  of  the  American  people  is  not  far  short  of  $15,000,000,000. 

These  debts,  in  fact,  are  owed  by  the  people,  for  the  people  have  to  pay  them. 
No  man  can  say  that  he  is  out  of  debt.  Each  bond  is  an  order  for  commodities 
created  by  human  toil.  The  debts  are  paid  finally  in  the  articles  which  men  pro¬ 
duce.  Thus,  as  prices  fall,  more  and  more  of  such  articles  must  be  given  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  fixed  obligation.  Men  are  accustomed  to  think  of  buying  as 
an  operation  performed  solely  with  money.  But  the  farmer  who  sells  his  products 
buys  the  money  as  truly  as  the  person  to  whom  he  sells  them  purchases  his  wares. 
As  prices  fall,  money  becomes  continually  dearer  and  demands  an  increasing  sacrifice 
from  him  who  would  procure  it  for  any  purpose.  The  operation  of  this  increase 
may  be  indicated  by  consideration  of  the  following  statement,  which  I  did  not  pre¬ 
pare,  but  which  I  believe  to  be  trustworthy  : 

THE  NATIONAL  DEBT. 

Years. 

In  1866  It  was . $2,000,000,000 

Paid  principal,  interest  and 

premium .  4,350,000,000 

In  1894  Balance  due,  in  dollars,  about,  900,000,000 


74 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


Bales. 

In  1866  It  could  have  been  paid  in  cotton,  14,184,000 
Paid  principal,  interest,  etc.,  in 

cotton .  94,690,000 

In  1894  Balance  due  in  cotton  at  5  cts.,  51,000,000 


Bushels. 

In  1866  It  could  have  been  paid  in  wheat,  1,007,000,000 
Paid  principal,  interest,  etc.,  in 


wheat  .  5,022,000,000  , 

In  1894  Balance  due  in  wheat .  2,054,900,000 


Accepting  this  statement  as  accurate,  we  find  that,  after  paying  in  cotton  nearly 
seven  times  the  original  amount  of  the  national  debt,  the  American  people  still 
owe,  in  cotton,  nearly  four  times  the  original  debt ;  and  in  cotton,  wheat  and 
similar  materials  this  debt  and  all  other  debts  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  paid. 

When  such  figures  as  these  are  presented,  with  the  appalling  fact  of  the  de¬ 
struction  of  w^ealth  which  they  indicate,  there  is  no  longer  reason  for  astonishment 
that,  between  1880  and  1895  the  number  of  homes  stolen  from  the  people  by  fore¬ 
closure  of  mortgages  (owned  by  the  bankers),  amounted  to  the  enormous  number 
of  18,000,000.  This  can  be  called  by  no  milder  name  than  Legalized  Robbery. — 
Heher  Clark's  Speech  Before  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature. 

HISTORY  REPEATS  ITSELF— WHAT  WILL  BE  THE 

RESULT  IN  AMERICA. 

Rome  was  once  the  grandest  and  most  democratic  nation  on 
the  earth.  Her  wealth  was  then  distributed  among  the  multi¬ 
tude,  and  as  a  result  her  people  were  happy.  The  land  was 
owned  and  divided  among  the  millions.  Her  great  soldiers  and 
statesman  were  still  greater  farmers.  Eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
population  were  land-owners,  and  knew  that  they  had  something 
to  fight  for,  and  as  a  consequence  the  Roman  soldiers  were  invin¬ 
cible. 

The  great  German  historian,  Neibhur,  says : 

“To  what  more  than  to  her  system  of  colonizatiou,  a  branch  of  her  agrarian 
scheme,  w^as  she  (Rome)  indebted  for  the  security  and  extension  of  her  frontier?  A 
hosts  of  warriors  were  trained  up  ready  to  take  the  field  at  the  call  of  their  country, 
yet  no  less  ready  to  exchange  the  sword  for  the  plow-share.  It  is  not,  however, 
in  a  military  point  of  view  that  the  value  of  this  institution  is  evident.  Tliey 
were  of  no  less  domestic  importance  in  providing  against  the  phenomena  so  fre¬ 
quently  met  with  in  great  cities,  of  the  squalid  indingence  by  the  side  of  the  most 
profuse  extravagance.  ’  ’ 

In  one  of  his  most  eloquent  sermons,  the  Rev.  Gilbert  De  La 
Matyer  uses  the  following  language : 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World 


75 


“  With  the  history  of  mighty  Rome  we  are  all  familiar.  At  the  zenith  of  her 
real  greatness  and  power,  eighty  five  per  cent,  of  her  population  held  titles  in  lands, 
and  cultivated  their  own.  Then  her  people  were  happy,  prosperous,  hardy  and 
brave  ;  her  legions  were  invincible.  Then  her  currency  was  in  volume  one  thousand 
and  eight  hundred  millions ;  when  Rome  perished,  her  lands  and  wealth  were  in  the 
hands  of  two  thousand  inviduals. 

Dr.  Lord  says : 

‘  ‘  These  two  thousand  persons  owned  the  world  ;  her  currency  had  been  con¬ 
tracted  by  class  legislation  to  less  than  two  hundred  millions.'’ ' 

Allison  says : 

“The  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  so  long  ascribed  to  ignorance,  slavery, 
heathenism  and  moral  corruption,  was  really  brought  about  by  a  decline  in  the 
gold  and  silver  mines  of  Spain  and  Greece.  ’  ’ 

The  German  historian,  Neibhnr,  from  whom  I  quoted  beforp, 
says : 

‘  ‘  The  people  gave  themselves  up  in  dispair  in  the  fields  as  beasts  of  burden 
lie  beneath  their  load  and  refused  to  rise.  The  disintegration  of  society  was  almost 
complete,  all  public  spirit,  all  generous  emotions,  all  noble  aspirations  of  man 
shriveled  and  disappeared  as  the  volume  of  money  shrank  and  prices  fell ;  as  men 
decayed  wealth  accumulated  in  the  hands  of  the  few.  Not  only  did  whole 
provinces  (states)  become  the  property  of  one  man,  but  usury  existed  in  so  fright¬ 
ful  a  form  that  even  the  virtuous  Brutus  received  sixty  per  cent,  for  the  use  of 
money.” 

Pliny  says  : 

“These  colossal  fortunes  which  ruined  Italy  were  due  to  the  contraction  of 
estates  through  usury,  so  scarce  was  money.  ’  ’ 

Quotations  of  this  character  could  be  pursued  much  further, 
but  the  writer  thinks  this  is  sufficient  to  convince  any  intelligent 
person  of  the  real  cause  of  depreciation  of  value  and  the  hard 
times  in  our  country. 

Col.  Heath,  the  late  lamented  brilliant  writer,  in  one  of  his 
newspaper  articles  truthfully  said  : 

Egypt  died  when  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  her  wealth  became  centered  in 
three  per  cent,  of  her  population.” 

Babylon’s  fall  was  caused  by  ninety-eight  per  cent,  of  her  wealth  centering  in 
two  per  cent,  of  her  people.” 

Persia,  the  empire  of  a  hundred  and  seven  and  twenty  provinces  (states), 
kicked  the  bucket  when  one  per  cent,  of  her  population  had  gobbled  up  the  wealth 
of  the  realm.” 


76 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

“  Greece,  with  more  tenacity,  succum))ed  to  apoplexy  when  less  than  one  per 
cent,  of  her  wealth  was  distributed  among  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  her  people. 

“  Rome  gave  up  the  ghost  when  two  thousand  of  her  nobles  owned  the  world.” 

“  In  the  American  Republic  the  wealth  producers  own  less  than  ten  per  cent, 
of  what  they  have  created.” 

Why  did  Egypt,  Persia,  Greece  and  Rome  become  decrepit 
and  die?  Because  they  committed  suicide  by  enslaving  and 
starving  their  working  people,  through  robbing  and  oppressing 
them  by  concentrating  the  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 

Will  the  United  States  follow  their  example  and  commit 
suicide  ? 

Or  will  it  profit  from  those  countries’  experience,  and  avoid 
their  fate? 

The  American  people  are  almost  face  to  face  with  three 
things,  despotism,  reformation  or  dissolution.  Which  will  they 
choose  ?  The  writer  asks  every  true,  intelligent  lover  of  liberty 
to  carefully  consider  this  example,  and  do  their  best  to  avoid  his¬ 
tory  repeating  itself  in  this  rich  land.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  party 
lines,  but  it  is  the  sustaining  of  our  republic  and  free  institu¬ 
tions.  As  we  see  daily  the  moneyed  people  of  our  country  buy¬ 
ing  titles  of  counts,  etc.,  by  marriages,  and  also  going  to  Europe 
and  spending  millions  to  get  into  aristocratic  society.  Henry 
Teller,  a  true,  liberty-loving  and  honest  American  statesman,  and 
the  others,  would  never  have  severed  their  connection  with  the 
party  of  Lincoln  (which  they  helped  to  organize)  if  they  had  not 
known  that  the  party  of  Lincoln  had  passed  in  the  hands  of  the 
money  sharks  that  really  caused  the  assassination  of  the  liberator 
of  4,000,000  slaves  in  order  to  enslave  black  and  white  to  the 
gold  usurers  of  the  world. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


77 


AN  OBJECT  LESSON. 

One  year’s  experience  with  the  gold  standard  shows  the  gen¬ 
eral  devastation  of  over  §400,000,000  by  the  official  figures  of 
forty -three  States,  in  fact  the  table  and  figures  show  that  there 
is  no  need  of  further  explanation.  The  depreciation  of  value  in 
one  year,  and  it  is  but  a  beginning,  shows  what  a  continuation 
of  the  ruinous  gold  standard  would  bring  to  the  great  mass  of 
the  people.  This  table  is  taken  from  the  Atlanta  Conditution. 


STATE. 

1893. 

A  In  Hama . . 

$260,172,590 

28,468,183 

173,526,484 

1,216,700,000 

238,722,417 

102,965,406 

452,644,907 

A.rizoiitir*  ••••••••  -•-••• 

A  rL'jin. . 

1 1  fr\rm  n . 

r^nl  r»rn.fl  n . 

Elnrifla . 

fTpnr(ria . . .  •  • 

TflaLf* . 

33^000^000 

847,197,516 

1,302,004,669 

565,857,799 

356,621,818 

706,799,076 

Tlliiirti's . 

Tn/1 1  . 

Tnwa . . 

I>r  a.n  . 

T^pnl.nfvVv . 

T  .nnisin.na . 

250'045'503 

Ara.rvla.nfl  . 

524,056,241 

270,012,782 

2,791,582,144 

642,903,657 

Alainp. . 

A  r  a.asar-l  in  sp.f.t.a . 

ATinnpsnf.a . 

All  asi  aai  nm . . 

160,' 946' 527 
994,589,787 
127,548,175 

AT  ri . 

ATnnf.n.na . . . 

NpHra.alra . . 

194,733,124 

26,178,060 

274,816,342 

768,295,274 

43,630,240 

4,038,058,994 

261,717,727 

15,029,927 

1,752,990,930 

168,088,905 

9,115,320,549 

170,242,261 

136,0.32,840 

338,731,726 

886,175,395 

AJpva.fla . . 

New  Hampshire . 

T'Jpw  -Tprspv  . 

AJpw  Arpvip.n . 

Vpw  Vnrk" . 

North  Carolina . 

OV  In  1mm  a . . 

Ohif) . 

OrPfron  . 

T^pn  11  iivl  vn.n  lA . . 

South  Carolina . 

South  Dakota . 

Tpnnpaspp. . 

T  exa*^ . 

TTf.a.h . 

117,50.5,375 

176,051,365 

466,945,118 

Vprnmnt". . . . . 

Virtrinia . 

AV  a.ali  i  n  frtnn . 

285,634,246 

222,218,154 

6.54,000,000 

32,356,801 

AVpat.  Virfrinia . 

AV  1  ap.nn  si  n . 

AV  vmn  incr . 

. 

Totals . j  . 

1894. 

INCREASE. 

DECREASE. 

$243,771,677 

$17,000,913 

27,061,974 

1,406,209 

171,965,480 

1,597,004 

1,20.5,918,000 

10,782,000 

208,905,279 

29,817,138 

114,246,969 

1,281,563 

429,012,923 

2,-363,984 

28,000,000 

5,000,000 

824,651,628 

22,539,888 

1,275,435,377 

26,569,292 

556,412,766 

9,445,033 

337,501,722 

19,120,096 

696,220,342 

10,578,7.34 

251,091,348 

1,045,84.5 

529,138,103 

5,081,862 

272,319,370 

1,-506,588 

2,815,883,621 

24,307,477 

648,759,245 

5,855,603 

159,058,436 

1,891,091 

999,951,960 

5,372,137 

118,850,892 

8,698,088 

183,417,498 

10,015,622 

23,628,720 

269,683,799 

774,398,332 

2,544,340 

6,703,058 

41,128,620 

2,501,620 

4,273,942,431 

23.5,883,482 

262,917,119 

1,209,392 

14,830,495 

199,432 

1,742,662,115 

10,328,815 

1.50,  .399, 383 

17,689,522 

3,162,114,251 

46,79.3,702 

173,-508,269 

3,266,088 

% 

128,046,765 

7,986,075 

319,822,187 

18,909,-529 

867,814,305 

18,361,090 

99,542,472 

17,962,903 

175,132,912 

918,453 

464,0.38,922 

2,906,196 

228,3.56,572 

57,277,674 

2,210,747 

220,007,407 

600,000,000 

28,198,041 

54,000,000 

3,155,760 

$337,700,7.53 

$417,180,790 

78 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

Here  we  have  an  object  lesson  worth  studying,  the  beauties  of 
the  gold  standard  for  the  money  centers. 

We  find  only  twelve  States  out  of  forty-three  which  have  in¬ 
creased  in  valuation,  $337,700,753,  and  by  deducting  the  amount 
of  increase  from  the  $477,lb0,790,  decrease  we  find  $79,480,037, 
a  decrease  in  valuation  that  we  cannot  account  for.  Why  ?  Because 
the  value  of  wealth  was  destroyed  by  the  contraction  of  the  cur¬ 
rency,  which  advanced  in  value,  because  every  time  you  create 
contraction  the  value  of  money  raises  thereof. 

By  studying  the  figures  we  find  that  New  York  (a  money 
center)  alone  has  $235,883,482  of  the  increase,  or  70  per  cent. 
The  next  comes  Pennsyvania  (another  money  center)  with  $46,- 
793,702  increase,  and  Massachusetts,  with  $24,301,477.  So  we 
find  that  these  three  States  (the  money  centers  of  the  country) 
increased  their  valuation  $306,978,761,  leaving  only  $30,731,992 
for  the  other  nine  States  quoted  in  the  increase.  AVhen  we  con¬ 
sider  this  we  cannot  come  to  any  other  conclusion  than  to  see  so 
plain  by  the  figures  that  the  gold  standard  is  the  ruin  of  all  the 
States  except  these  three,  and  even  at  that,  the  people  (the  masses  I 
mean)  of  these  three  States  are  not  in  any  better  condition  than 
their  equal  in  all  other  States  of  the  Union,  because  there  is  more 
misery  in  New  York  State  with  $235,883,482  increase  than  in  any 
other  State.  The  fact  is,  that  the  ones  which  reap  the  benefit  of 
the  gold  standard  are  the  Wall  Street  Bankers,  and  a  few  other 
money  lenders  and  Mortgage  Owners,  at  the  expense  of  all  other 
people. 

Will  the  voters  see  ? 

WORDS  FROM  WISE  MEN. 

‘  ‘  A  specie-payment  system  is  a  contrivance  invented  to  cheat  the  laboring 
classes  of  mankind.” — Daniel  Webster. 

The  Republican  party  demands  such  a  system  for  this 
country. 

‘  ‘  Liberty  cannot  long  endure  in  any  country  where  the  tendency  of  legislation 
is  to  concentrate  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few. — Daniel  Webster. 

The  Republican  party  started  to  concentrate  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  a  few,  and  Grover  Cleveland,  the  Mugwump,  has  done 
the  same. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


79 


“  Wlioever  controls  the  volume  of  money  in  any  country  is  absolute  master  of 
all  industry  and  commerce.” — James  A.  Garfield. 

The  people  should  not  allow  the  National  banks  to  live  long, 
because  they  will  then  control  the  volume  of  money  more  than 
they  do  now,  as  the  vampires  have  in  view  the  retirement  of  the 
greenbacks  and  replace  the  National  bank  notes  instead  in  order 
to  perpetuate  the  system  and  keep  on  bonding  and  robbing  the 
people. 

‘‘  The  greenback  currency,  based  as  it  is  upon  the  credit  of  the  nation,  is  the 
best  money  the  world  ever  saw.” — U.  S.  Grant. 

General  Grant  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  when  he  said  that, 
because  paper  money  is  the  cheapest,  lightest  and  best  money  in 
the  world,  for  that  reason  the  bankers  want  to  issue  it  themselves. 

“  I  affirm  it  as  my  conviction  that  class  laws,  placing  capital  above  labor  in  the 
structure  of  government,  is  more  dangerous  to  the  Republic  than  was  chattel  slavery 
in  the  days  of  its  haughtiest  supremacy.” — Abraham  Lincoln. 

Who  to-day,  doubts  for  a  moment  that  the  whole  legislation 
in  Congress  is  dictated  by  capital  and  corporations  for  their 
interest  only  ? 

“  If  a  government  should  contract  a  debt  with  a  certain  amount  of  money  in 
circulation,  and  then  contracted  the  money  volume  before  the  debt  was  paid,  it 
would  be  the  most  henious  crime  a  government  could  commit  against  the  people.” 
— Abraham  Lincoln. 

That  is  just  what  this  government  has  done,  it  contracted 
the  war  debt,  and  afterward  not  only  contracted  the  money 
volume  but  destroyed  it  and  funded  the  debt,  and  afterward, 
in  1873,  destroyed  half  of  the  volume  of  money  and  they  expect 
to  keep  on  doing  it  all  the  time. 

“  Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is  only  the  fruit  of 
labor  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor  had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the 
superior  of  capital,  and  deserves  much  the  higher  consideration.” — Abraham  Lin¬ 
coln. 

These  words  were  in  a  message  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  Does  the  legislation  of  that  body  for  the  past  thirty 
years  look  as  though  our  law-makers  believed  these  words  of 
Lincoln  ?  I  quote  these  words  to  prove  that  the  Republican 
party  of  Lincoln  is  dead,  for  the  party  of  that  name  is  now 
absolutely  dominated  by  capitalists  and  syndicates. 


80 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


‘  ‘  If  Congress  has  the  right  under  the  Constitution  to  issue  paper  money,  it  was 
given  them  to  be  used  by  themselves,  not  to  be  delegated  to  individuals  or  corpora¬ 
tions.” — Andrew  Jackson. 

The  political  mercenary  tools  in  Congress  have  sold  out 
this  right  to  the  National  banks  for  good  prices,  or  they  are 
themselves  interested  in  the  banks,  and  they  vote  for  their  own 
interest  all  the  time. 

“  I  am  not  among  those  who  fear  the  people.  They,  and  not  the  rich,  are  our 
dependance  for  continued  freedom  ;  and  to  preserve  their  independence,  we  must 
not  let  our  rulers  load  us  with  perpetual  debt.” — Thomas  Jefferson. 

Grover  Cleveland  differs  from  the  founder  of  democracy  and 
the  author  of  that  sacred  document,  the  Declaration  of  Indepen¬ 
dence,  which  freed  us  from  England.  Grover  now  seeks  to 
annul  it  by  enslaving  the  people  to  the  gold  lords  of  England 
with  an  intent  to  perpetuate  the  debt. 

“  I  believe  that  banking  institutions  are  more  dangerous  to  our  liberties  than 
standing  armies.  Already  they  have  set  up  a  money  aristocracy  that  has  set  the 
government  at  defiance.  The  issuing  power  should  be  taken  from  the  banks  and 
restored  to  the  government  and  the  people,  to  whom  it  properly  belongs.  Let  the 
banks  exist,  but  let  them  bank  on  coin  or  treasury  notes.” — Thomas  Jefferson. 

Here  is  another  very  different  stand  taken  by  Jefferson,  than 
the  one  taken  in  oppossition  now  by  the  would-be  patriots  and 
Democrats  of  the  present  Administration.  It  is  true  that  the 
Republicans  took  the  cake  in  favoring  the  National  bankers,  but 
Grover  and  the  clique  want  to  do  better  and  get  away  with  the 
whole  bakery  by  giving  the  bankers  the  sole  right  to  issue  money 
and  keep  up  the  aristocracy. 

“The  national  banks  are  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  the  greenbacks,  the 
payment  of  the  bonds  in  coin,  the  funding  acts,  the  demonitization  of  silver,  and 
all  the  corrupt  financial  legislation  in  this  country  for  the  past  thirty  years.  They 
have  boycotted  and  discriminated  against  every  kind  of  money  that  promised  re¬ 
lief  to  the  debtor  class  and  prosperity  to  the  industrial  masses.  They  are  boycot- 
ters  of  the  most  cruel  and  merciless  kind.” — Grand  Master  J.  R.  Sovereign  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor. 

Yes,  you  are  right  Mr.  Sovereign,  but  John  Sherman,  of 
Ohio,  whom  many  Americans  believe  to  be  a  great  patriot  and 
financier  (?),  did  all  the  dirty  work  necessary  to  carry  into  law 
the  acts  and  schemes  of  the  bankers.  He  is  still  at  it,  and 
expects  to  succeed  Carlisle  should  McKinley  get  elected,  whom 
the  chumps  will  vote  for  and  believe  that  he  is  the  working 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


81 


men’s  friend.  Oh  yes,  they  will  find  out  later  on.  Sherman 
intends  to  do  great  work  for  the  Rothschilds  when  he  gets  there. 
Will  he  have  the  chance? 

“Fifty  men  in  these  United  States  have  it  in  their  power,  by  reason  of  the 
wealth  which  they  control,  to  come  together  within  twenty-four  hours  and  arrive  at 
an  understanding  by  which  every  wheel  of  commerce  may  be  stopped,  and  every 
electric  key  struck  dumb.  These  fifty  men  can  paralyze  the  whole  country,  for 
they  can  control  the  circulation  of  the  currency  and  create  a  panic  whenever  they 
will.” — Chauncey  31.  Depew. 

If  Depew  never  told  the  truth  before,  he  told  it  at  the  time 
he  said  this,  because  it  was  only  ten  bankers  that  created  the 
panic  of  1893,  and  it  only  takes  about  double  that  number  to 
paralyze  commerce  as  things  are  run  only  to  suit  the  government 
of  aristocracy  nowadays.  And  they  are  making  threats  of  panic 
right  now. 

‘  ‘  My  agency  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  National  Bank  Act  was  the  great¬ 
est  financial  mistake  of  my  life.  It  has  built  up  a  monopoly  that  affects  every  in¬ 
terest  in  the  country.  It  should  be  repealed  ;  but,  before  this  can  be  accomplished, 
the  people  will  be  arrayed  on  one  side  and  the  banks  on  the  other,  in  a  contest  such 
as  we  have  never  seen  in  this  country.” — Salmon  P.  Chase. 

This  was  said  by  Mr.  Chase  shortly  before  he  died.  Chase 
was  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Mr.  Lincoln,  whom  the 
bankers  had  fixed  or  persuaded  to  push  the  National  Banking 
Act,  and  he  told  Lincoln  he  would  resign  his  office  if  the  Presi¬ 
dent  did  not  sign  the  Act  within  two  hours. 

All  the  greatest  men  of  this  country  were  for  both  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver  and  against  the  gold  standard,  to  wit :  Washington,  Jefferson, 
Franklin,  Jackson,  Lincoln,  Grant,  Garfield,  Blaine  and  many 
others.  Harrison  (who  now  says  he  will  stump  for  McKinley) 
signed  the  Sherman  Silver  Purchasing  Act,  after  the  bankers  had 
sent  1400  telegrams  to  veto  it,  and  that  was  the  reason  the 
hankers  defeated  him.  The  writer  got  money  from  a  Republican 
National  bank  president  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  to  defeat  him, 
and  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about.  So  be  patriotic  and 
American  above  party. 

The  bankers  have  always  fixed  things  so  as  to  have  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  with 
them,  and  get  the  Secretary  of  Treasury  to  deposit  the  money  of 

the  people  with  them  so  that  they  can  get  interest  upon  it,  and 
6 


82 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

also  by  controlling  it,  create  panics  and  force  bond  issues  at  their 
will.  The  old  bonds  would  have  expired  in  1907,  which  would 
have  ended  the  National  banking  system.  They  had  too  good  a 
snap  to  let  it  go  easily.  So  they  created  the  panic,  and  arranged 
with  Cleveland  and  Carlisle  to  issue  more  bonds  in  order  to  pro¬ 
long  for  thirty  years  or  more  their  system  of  usury  and  legalized 
robbery.  This  nation  Avill  never  get  out  of  debt  as  long  as  the 
National  banking  law  is  in  the  Statute  Books  of  our  country, 
because  the  banker  will  do  anything  to  prolong  it  if  they  have 
to  spend  millions,  which  they  get  back  double. 

God  save  this  country  from  falling  in  the  hands  of  Ohio’s 
statesmen.  (?)  They  have  been  a  disgrace  in  the  past,  to  wit: 
Salmon  P.  Chase  was  twice  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  the  agent  who 
procured  the  passage  of  the  National  Banking  Act.  Senator 
Wade,  who  said :  “  By  the  gods,  Johnson  (who  succeeded  Lincoln), 
we  have  faith  in  you,  there  will  not  he  any  trouble  now  in  running  the 
government”  After  Lincoln’s  death  he  was  leading  U.  S.  Sena¬ 
tor  from  Ohio.  John  Sherman,  ‘‘the  author  of  Hard  Times,” 
who  sold  this  country,  and  who  will,  it  is  reported,  take  the  stump 
to  endeavor  to  prevent  the  people  from  redeeming  it,  is  from  Ohio. 
Corporation  Lawyer  Foraker  (Senator-elect  to  do  the  work  for 
corporations,  as  Sherman  is  too  old),  who  worked  for  the  gold 
platform  in  St.  Louis,  and  moved  to  lay  on  the  table  Senator 
Teller’s  bimetallic  substitute,  is  from  Ohio.  McKinley,  the  Hanna 
trust  and  syndicate  man,  is  from  Ohio.  People  will  find  out  their 
mistake  if  they  do  not  stop  it,  because  the  result  will  be  the  ful¬ 
filling  of  Lincoln’s  prophecy  (the  destruction  of  this  republic), 
just  as  sure  as  Csesar  and  the  wealthy  classes  destroyed  the  grand 
Roman  republic,  that  cost  Csesar  his  life.  Do  you  wish  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  potentate  government  in  this  country  ?  Here  is  what  the 
potentates  get  per  day,  besides  other  things : 


Emperor  (Czar)  of  Russia . $25,000 

Sultan  (Despot)  of  Turkey .  18,000 

Emperor  (Bigot)  of  Austria .  10,000 

King  (Humbug)  of  Italy .  8,600 

Emperor  William  of  Germany .  8,000 

Queen  Victoria  of  England .  5,000 


Considering  the  services  of  those  people,  are  they  not  over 
paid?  Yes!  But  these  people  and  the  shylocks  are  protecting 
their  interest  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  masses  do  not  do  the  same  ? 


The  Wokst  Financial  System  in  the  Would. 


83 


HOW  THE  BANKERS  FOOL  THE  PEOPLE. 

Let  us  see  how  the  Bankers  have  fooled  the  people  so 
long  and  still  fool  them,  and  the  people  do  hot  know 
yet  how  it  is  done,  and  why  the  bankers  have  all  they  want 
and  good  times,  while  millions  of  other  people  and  their 
innocent  children  and  wives  starve  and  freeze  and  become 
paupers  more  and  more,  while  the  bankers  and  money  lenders 
become  millionaires. 

Here  it  is  in  a  nut  shell,  how  it  is  done ;  about  a  year  or  so 
prior  to  the  election  the  bankers  set  their  machines  to  work, 
the  lying  and  corrupt  newspaper-politicians,  and  they  com¬ 
mence  writing  articles  over  articles,  who  should  be  the  best 
man  to  nominate  for  President,  etc.,  the  best  man  for  the 
people  of  both  parties ;  and  they  do  like  the  nut-shell 
swindlers  or  presto  change  sure  thing  man,  on  the  table  of 
sectional  hate,  they  being  working  and  working  it  yet.  The 
Mason  and  Dixon  Line  is  their  table  North  and  South,  Free 
Trade  and  Protection,  “you  know,”  and  with  said  articles 
over  articles  they  get  the  people  excited  and  prejudiced 
against  one  another  about  it,  as  they  are  doing  now  and  all 
the  time  the  same  thing,  until  about  a  few  days  before  the 
primaries  election  for  delegates  to  the  convention  ;  then  Mr. 
Banker  sends  for  the  ward  heeler  or  the  boss  politician,  you 
know  him,  the  fellow  that  never  work  hard,  but  has  soft 
jobs  and  big  pay  or  does  not  work  at  all,  but  wears  good 
clothes  at  our  expense,  and  the  bankers  tell  him  about  the 
newspaper  articles,  etc.,  and  who  will  be  the  best  man  to 
nominate,  and  who  should  be  the  delegates  to  the  convention, 
and  will  furnish  the  money  to  carry  out  his  plan.  The  fellow 
takes  it  of  course,  and  puts  it  where  it  does  the  most  good,  in 
his  pocket,  except  a  few  dollars  to  fool  the  people  ;  the  warm¬ 
up  to  treat  them  and  promises  great  times  and  good  jobs  with 
big  pay,  and  commences  his  work  this  way.  “  Say  boys  did 
you  see  the  article  in  the  papers  this  morning  about  Mr.  C., 
that  was  a  good  article  ;  was  it  not  ?  Mr.  C.  is  no  good  ;  we 
don’t  want  to  nominate  him  ;  we  want  Mr.  Me.,  he  is  a  good 
man  and  a  good  candidate  and  will  sweep  the  country, 
and  we  must  nominate  him ;  he  is  all  right,  boys,  and  if  we 
nominate  and  elect  him  we  will  have  good  times  sure.  Mr. 
Barkeeper  give  us  a  drink  ;  come  boys  all  take  a  drink  with 


84 


A  Gold  Conspiiiacy,  or 


me,  and  here’s  looking  at  you,  here’s  for  Me.,  liere’s  for  liar,, 
here’s  for  Reed  ;  give  us  another  drink  Mr.  Barkeej)er,  as 
they  are  getting  warmed  up  in  great  shape,”  and  my  friend’s 
man  will  get  there  sure,  the  Banker’ s  man. 

After  the  first  drink  ;  “Now  let  me  tell  you,  boys,  if  we 
nominate  Mr.  Me.,  we  are  all  right,  as  he  is  for  good  wages, 
good  times  and  protection  to  American  labor  and  x)lenty  of 
work,  because  it  protects  the  American  peoj^le,”  and  for  that 
reason  we  must  nominate  him;  give  us  another  drink  ;  drink 
what  you  want,  boys.  I  want  California  wine.  I  take  Col. 
Booze,  of  Kentucky,  says  another  that  is  spilling  it  already, 
and  finally  he  has  got  them  in  such  shape  that  they  do  not 
think  of  their  wives  and  children  waiting  home,  and  i)uts 
them  in  line  with  torches  and  marches  them  to  hear  the  great 
L. — Speaker,  the  Banker’s  mouth-piece,  and  they  hurrah  and 
whoop  it  up  for  the  G.  O.  P.  That  night  is  solid  North 
Republican  and  protection  to  American  Labor,  good  wages 
and  lots  of  work  and  down  with  Free  Trade  and  the  solid 
South,  and  sometimes  they  fight  the  war  over  and  knock  one 
another  silly,  etc. 


The  WoiiST  FmANCiAL  System  in  the  World. 


85 


About  a  week  or  so  after,  the  Democratic  Bankers  send  for 
the  Democratic  Boss  Politician,  dem-primaries  you  know, 
and  furnishes  him  the  warm  up,  may  be  not  so  much,  but  he 
must  have  it  to  go  through  the  same  story,  and  that  night  is 
Solid  South  Democracy  and  Government  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people,  and  down  with  trusts  and  the  robbers’  tariff, 
etc. ,  etc. 

You  see  one  night  Solid  North  and  another  night  (presto- 
change)  Solid  South,  until  the  nominations  are  made  ;  after 
the  nominations  the  Bankers  go  to  a  summer  resort  or  other 
places  and  have  good  times  on  the  result,  as  they  know  now 
that  it  is  head  they  win,  and  tail  we  lose,  which  ever  way  it 
goes,  and  leaves  them  to  fight  it  out  until  Election  Day,  and 
after  election  the  North  raises  his  cover,  and  presto-change, 
the  great  good  times,  good  wages  and  protection  to  American 
Labor  are  gone.  The  South  raises  his  cover,  and  also  the 
great  promises  of  Government  for  the  people  and  by  the 
people,  and  down  with  monopoly  and  trusts,  are  gone  (one 
Sugar  Trust  got  down  on  the  people)  and  now  comes  Mr. 
Banker  from  behind  and  raises  his  cover,  and  there  is  his 
gold  that  with  the  vicious  laws  passed^  grows  and  grows,  and 
everything  else  down  and  decreasing,  he  has  the  laugh  on  us 
all.  Democrats  and  Republicans  he  fools,  both  North  and 
South,  on  sectional  hate,  while  our  interest  is  intrinsically 
the  same.  Lots  of  fun  for  the  Banker  and  you.  See,  see ! 


86 


A  Gold  Coxspikacy,  ok 


How  the  Bankers  fool  the  people.  Sectional  hate  Mason 

and  Dixon  line. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


87 


HOW  THE  “BANKER”  GETS  THE  CROPS,  RAIN  OR 

SHINE,  OR  GETS  THE  FARM 

The  contraction  and  monopoly  of  our  currency  for  not 
having  the  government  issue  it,  and  not  having  sufficient 
medium  of  exchange  (money)  in  circulation  according  to  the 
demand,  and  how  the  Bankers  get  the  benefit. 

Now  we  take  a  city  with  a  farmer,  a  merchant,  a  miller, 
a  banker,  etc.  ;  the  farmer  has  a  good  farm  and  wishes  to  seed 
it ;  he  is  out  of  debt,  and  has  everything — horses,  plows, 
seed,  etc.,  but  he  has  not  the  money  to  pay  his  help  or  get 
provisions.  We  say  he  has  the  above  mentioned  properties, 
but  how  many  farmers  have  not  even  that.  He  wishes  to  seed 
his  farm  and  he  asks  his  neighbor  if  he  can  loan  him  $1,000. 
“No,  I  have  not  got  it  John,  I  had  some  money  and  I  put  it 
in  the  bank,  and  it  failed  and  I  lost  it.”  (And  there  is  where 
the  people  put  the  money  in  these  days,  and  the  bankers  get 
the  interest  on  the  people’s  money,  and  sometimes  get  it  all). 
So  Mr.  John  has  to  start  for  the  bank  where  the  money  is  and 
our  government  has  given  Mr.  Banker  the  monopoly,  and  even 
the  people  keep  there  what  little  they  have,  and  there  goes 
Mr.  John,  the  farmer,  to  the  bank.  Mr.  Clerk  comes  “What 
can  I  do  for  you,  Mr.  John.”  “  I  wish  to  borrow  some  money 
to  seed  my  farm.”  “Will  you  please  wait  a  few  minutes, 
the  President  or  the  Cashier  will  talk  to  you.”  Mr.  President 
comes — “What  can  I  do  for  you,  John.”  “I  wish  to  borrow 
$1,000  on  my  ranch  to  seed  it.”  “Oh,  money  is  very  tight 
with  us  just  now  and  I  don’t  think  that  we  can  accommodate 
you,  Mr.  John.”  That  is  the  first  statement  they  make  to 
John.  “Well,  gentlemen,  I  must  have  $1,000  to  seed  my 
farm  which  is  clear  of  mortgages,  etc.,  and  I  have  the  seed, 
etc.,  only  need  the  money.  I  have  been  a  good  customer  of 
the  bank  for  many  years,  too.”  “  Well,  come  in  to-morrow, 
we  will  consider  the  matter  and  try  to  accommodate  you” 
they  say  to  him.  Now  they  consult  and  see  how  much 
interest  they  should  charge  him.  “  Oh,  those  farmers  make 
plenty  of  money  with  their  crops,”  said  the  Cashier.  Well 
we  will  charge  him  12  per  cent  if  he  wants  the  money ;  he 
says  he  must  have  it,”  answers  the  President.  “  So  much  the 


88 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


better,  then,”  says  the  Cashier,  “and  see  that  the  pajiers  or 
mortgage  and  notes  are  all  drawn  straight  by  our  lawyers  ’  ’ 
(the  best  in  town,  you  know).  John  comes  the  next  day  and 
asks  if  they  have  concluded  to  accommodate  him.  “Yes, 
Mr.  John,”  says  the  Clerk  ;  “I  had  a  hard  time  to  persuade 
them  to  make  the  loan,  as  money  is  very  tight,  you  know, 
and  we  have  to  charge  you  12  per  cent  and  you  to  jiay  the 
cost  of  drawing  the  papers,  etc.,  if  you  wish  the  loan.”  It 
is  too  much  interest,  but  what  can  the  farmer  do  ;  he  has  to 
have  the  money  or  not  seed  the  ranch.  So  the  papers  are 
drawn  and  recorded  and  John  gets  the  money — about  $850  after 
the  interest  and  other  expenses  are  taken  off,  and  he  goes  to 
work  and  seeds  his  ranch,  we  say  with  wheat,  but  it  applies  to 
every  other  crop  raised,  and  he  has  to  take  all  the  chances  of 
scarcity  of  rain,  of  too  much  rain,  that  floods  his  crops,  of 
storms  coming  and  destroying  it,  or  other  elements  that  he 
cannot  help  ;  but  not  a  single  chance  is  taken  by  the  cold¬ 
blooded  and  sure-thing  Banker  ;  he  has  a  first  mortgage  on 
the  farm  and  the  crops.  But  suppose  we  say  this  time  the 
farmer  is  lucky  and  he  gets  a  good  crop— now  the  time  is 
getting  near  to  pay  the  mortgage  and  he  has  to  hustle  and  get 
his  crops  to  market  or  the  Banker  will  foreclose  on  him  ;  so  he 
j)uts  his  wheat  in  the  wagon  and  goes  to  town  to  sell  it  and  he 
sees  the  merchant.  ^^Say,  Jack,  do  you  want  to  buy  some 
wheat  ?  I  will  sell  it  to  you  cheap  so  that  you  can  make 
money  on  it.”  “  How  cheap,  John  ?”  40c.  a  bushel,  and  it  is 
the  best  wheat  you  ever  saw  ;  come  and  look  at  it  outside  in 
the  wagon.”  Jack  sees  the  wheat  and  it  is  good  and  he  would 
like  to  buy  it,  but  he  is  in  the  same  fix  as  John  was  (con¬ 
traction  you  know  brings  the  money  where  it  starts  from). 
“I  tell  you  John  what  I  will  do  I  will  trade  with  you,”  says 
Jack.  “Ho,  no  Jack,  I  have  to  have  money  to  pay  out,  and 
the  fellows  I  owe  it  to  do  not  want  goods.”  “  I  know  it,  but 
I  will  do  my  trading  with  you  some  other  time,  and  I  will 
patronize  you  if  you  patronize  me,”  and  so  as  Jack  likes  the 
wheat  and  wants  to  get  John’s  trade  and  wishes  to  speculate 
with  J ohn,  he  says  wait  ‘  d  will  see  if  I  can  buy  it,  ’  ’  and  he  goes 
to  the  bank,  may  be  some  other  bank,  but  a  bank  anyway. 
“Gentlemen,  I  have  a  chance  to  buy  John’s  wheat  cheap  and 
it  is  good,  and  I  am  short  of  money  just  now  ;  I  paid  some 


The  Woest  Financial  System  in  the  Woeld. 


89 


heavy  bills  and  I  would  like  to  borrow  $1,200.*’  ‘‘  Money  is 

very  tight  with  us  just  now” — same  old  story — ‘‘but  if  you 
have  a  chance  to  make  money  we  will  accommodate  you, 
being  an  old  customer  of  the  bank,  but  we  have  to  charge  a 
little  more  interest  than  usual.”  “How  much,”  asks  Jack. 
“  Oh,  12  per  cent,  you  know  you  will  make  money  and  you 
will  make  it  with  our  money  and  get  John’s  trade,  too.” 
“All  right,”  says  JackAnoflier  mortgage  on  the  merchant’s 
property  and  he  gets  the  money,  buys  the  wheat  and  pays  John 
and  John  returns  it  back  to  the  bank  where  it  started  from. 

Now  the  merchant  has  the  wheat  and  he  holds  it  to  see  if 
prices  will  go  up  so  that  he  may  make  something  on  it,  but  the 
time  gets  near  when  his  note  will  be  due  and  he  has  to  hustle 
too  or  the  Banker  will  have  a  Sheriff  lock  on  his  door,  and 
Jack  hunts  up  Peter  the  miller.  “Say,  Peter,  I  have  good 
wheat  !  bought  cheap  from  John  when  he  needed  money.  I 
would  like  to  sell  it  now.  Come  and  look  at  it.”  Peter  goes. 
“See,  Peter,  fine  wheat,  just  as  good  as  gold”  says  Jack 
(who  does  not  know  that  it  is  better  than  gold— can  we  eat 
gold).  Peter  likes  it,  and  they  agree  on  the  price  as  Jack 
needs  money  now,  and  Peter  goes  and  borrows  from  the  bank, 
pays  Jack  and  Jack  returns  it  to  the  bank  where  it  started 
from.  We  leave  the  baker  alone  ;  say  he  buys  a  small 
quantity  and  pays  cash  or  weekly,  but  before  that  bread  is 
eaten  by  the  consumers  it  has  paid  three  interests,  36  per  cent 
to  the  Banker,  which  the  consumer  must  pay  for — and  does 
the  Banker  work  for  it  ?  Usurers  and  Shylocks  repeal  the 
National  Banking  Act.  Issue  the  money  by  the  government 
and  the  Banker  cannot  rob  the  people  and  cannot  create 
panics  and  force  legislation  in  their  favor  to  issue  more  bonds 
and  perpetuate  this  robbery. 


90 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


BAN  kO 


CITY  OF  “BANKERS  COUNTRY." 


How  the  Bankers  get  the  Crops,  rain  or  shine, 

or  get  the  Farm. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


91 


THE  LAW  AND  HOW  DIFFERENTLY  IT  IS  AD¬ 
MINISTERED  BY  OUR  COURTS,  OR  MADAME 
JUSTICE,  AND  HOW  SHE  APPEARS  WHEN 
SAME  IS  TO  BE  ADMINISTERED. 

These  are  facts,  and  on  record,  and  we  are  all  familiar 
with  them,  and  no  one  can  call  me  to  account  that  our  laws 
are  violated  by  Capitalists  and  Corporations  and  there  is  no 
punishment  for  them,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  poor  are 
declared  guilty  in  advance  and  before  trying  their  cases,  by 
pseudo  law  abiding  citizens  and  defiers  of  the  law  of  the 
land.  Let  us  prove  this  assertion. 

On  August  5th,  1892,  Congress  passed  a  law  authorizing 
the  outright  gift  of  $2,500,000  of  the  people’s  money  as 
Souvenir  Coin  to  the  Columbian  Exposition  Company,  a 
corporation  of  Chicago  Capitalists,  and  in  order  to  effect  the 
passage  of  said  law  the  said  corporation  of  Chicago  Capital¬ 
ists  accepted  and  agreed  to  allow  a  clause  to  be  added  (so 
j)lain  for  any  one  to  understand  it)  closing  the  World’s 
Columbian  Exposition  on  Sunday.  And  the  corporation  was 
paid  $2,500,000  to  obey  that  law  of  Congress,  which  was 
passed  by  a  majority  of  48  and  was  signed  by  President 
Harrison  on  the  same  day,  and  they  took  that  money  on  those 
conditions,  but  they  did  not  obey  the  law.  After  three 
Sunday  closings  of  said  Exposition,  or  on  May  12th,  1893, 
the  Legislative  Committee  of  the  directors  of  said  corpora, 
tion,  composed  of  Edwin  Walker  (chairman),  Ferd.  W.  Peck, 
F.  S.  Yinton  and  Arthur  Dixon,  as  his  associates,  reported 
and  deliberately  said  Congress  had  no  power  to  pass  such  a 
law  (but  they  took  the  money  on  that  condition).  The 
directors  of  said  corporation,  Lyman  J.  Gage,  Davis, 
Hutchinson,  McNally,  Kerfoot  and  Lawson,  acting  upon 
said  report  from  the  Legislative  Committee  and  declaring 
themselves  the  champion  law-makers  of  the  land.  On  May 
16th,  1893,  under  the  rules  of  said  corporation  they  ordered 
the  Fair  ojiened  on  Sunday,  against  the  protests  of  the 
National  Commissioners,  and  some  of  said  Commissioners 
advocated  that  the  general  government  would  be  applied  to 
for  the  sending  of  troops  to  close  said  Fair,  to  no  avail,  as 


92 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

the  Administrative  Committee  of  said  Fair,  under  the  rules, 
opened  the  gates  of  the  Fair  and  defied  the  law  on  May  28, 
1893.  What  was  the  result  ?  The  government  brought  suit 
against  said  corporation  to  obey  the  law  and  close  the  Fair, 
and  on  June  8th  a  temporary  Injunction  was  granted  to  the 
United  States  District  Attorney  Milchrist,  but  when  the  case 
went  before  the  U.  S.  Court,  Chief  Justice  Fuller  of  the  U. 
S.  Supreme  Court,  Justice  Bunn  of  Wisconsin  and  Allen  of 
Illinois,  decided  the  case  against  the  Government  and  in  favor 
of  the  corporation.  Edwin  Walker  was  the  Attorney  for  the 
corporation  (in  which  he  was  interested).  And  after  it  did 
not  pan  out  as  they  wanted,  they  were  saying  they  wanted  to 
'  give  a  chance  to  the  Workingmen  of  Chicago  to  see  the  Fair, 
but  they  cared  more  for  the  50c.  of  the  workingmen  than  all 
the  workingmen  of  the  world.  What  they  were  after  was  the 
50c. ,  so  the  workingmen  did  not  patronize  Sunday  opening, 
and  all  the  foreign  exhibits  were  covered,  and  the  press  out¬ 
side  of  Chicago,  and  especially  the  religious  press,  started  to 
boycott  the  Fair.  The  directors,  on  July  14th,  1893,  in  order 
to  clear  themselves  of  moral  obligation,  rescinded  their  order 
to  open  the  Fair,  and  on  July  22nd  the  Council  of  Adminis¬ 
tration  ordered  the  Fair  closed,  which  was  done  the  next  day, 
Sunday  July  23rd.  They  did  as  they  pleased  ;  disobeyed  the 
laws  of  Congress  and  the  orders  of  the  U.  S.  Courts. 

One  Chas.  W.  Clingman  did  better  than  the  government 
on  law  enforcing,  and  had  the  directors  fined  for  contempt 
of  court  before  Judge  Stein,  Mr.  Davis  was  fined  $250  and 
the  others  $1,000  each. 

Here  comes  another  important  case  that  we  all  also  know; 
the  A.  R.  U.,  not  a  corporation  but  workingmen  that  tried  to 
protect  themselves  from  starving  and  striked.  Debs,  Howard, 
Keliher,  Rogers  and  others,  in  which  Mr.  Edwin  Walker  of 
the  World’s  Fair  fame  was  the  Special  Attorney  to  prosecute 
those  people  (and  he  says  in  advance  according  to  an 
associated  press  dispatch,  sent  broadcast  all  over  the  land) 
guilty  in  advance  of  the  trying  of  their  case  ‘‘we  want  Debs 
and  every  man  that  has  trampled  on  the  law  to  be  punished,” 
and  he  was  a  mascot,  as  Federal  Judge  William  A.  Woods 
sentenced  them  to  six  months  each,  but  at  least  if  Debs  and 
his  associates  violated  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law  they 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World 


9.3 


surely  did  not  get  $2,500,000  and  then  break  the  law.  Here 
is  what  Mr.  Walker  is  supposed  to  have  said  : 

THEY  WANT  DEBS. 


National  Government  Will  Punish  all  the  Strike 

Leaders. 

Chicago^  July  5. — “If  the  strike  was  settled  to-day  it 
would  not  make  any  difference,’’  said  Edwin  Walker,  special 
counsel  for  the  Government.  “Every  man  who  has  trampled 
on  the  law  will  be  punished.  I  do  not  care  anything  about  the 
few  misguided  men  who  have  been  arrested.  It  is  the 
instigator  of  the  lawlessness  that  the  Government  wants  to 
punish.  That  is  Debs.  We  shall  have  Debs.  We  have  the 
evidence  against  him  now,  and  he  will  be  punished.” 

A  special  grand  jury  to  sit  next  Tuesday  was  summoned 
this  morning. — Cincinnati  Tribune^  July  6,  1894. 

Debs  and  the  others  went  in  jail. 

It  reminds  the  writer  of  the  Tyrant  Emperor  Tiberius,  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  when  he  was  decreeing  so  many  laws  and 
wanted  them  strictly  obeyed,  but  his  majesty’s  empolyes 
were  violating  them  by  the  wholesale,  and  one  day  Tiberius, 
asked  his  Prime  Minister  Tacitus  what  he  thought  of  the  last 
law  that  he,  Tiberius,  had  decreed,  and  Tacitus  philosophically 
answered  and  said:  ‘  ‘Your  Majesty,  to  tell  you  the  truth  about 
the  matter,  you  are  decreeing  so  many  laws  that  it  is 
impossible  to  execute  them,  and  your  own  lawyers  and 
judges  do  not  obey  them.  What  can  you  expect  from  the 
other  people  that  see  the  examples”  (good  for  Tacitus,  he 
was  for  good  examples).  Tiberius  was  assassinated. 

The  writer  could  quote  hundreds  of  such  cases  all  over  the 
land.  See  Editorial  of  the  Chicago  Times  about  the  Santa  Fe 
R.  R.  (Page.ll3)Here  is  an  example  while  I  was  in  Cincinnati. 
Food  Inspector  Pendergast  arrested  a  poor  milkman  for 
having  put  a  little  water  in  the  milk  that  he  was  selling;  he 
was  convicted,  fined  and  sent  to  the  Workhouse. 

The  R.  R-  and  other  corporations  water  their  stocks 
very  heavy  and  what  do  they  get  for  punishment?  The  best 


94 


A.  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


seats  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  and  House  of  liepresentatives.  See 
the  difference  in  the  Law  and  Madame  Justice  as  she  appears 
when  Justice  is  to  be  delivered,  quite  different  you  know. 


MADAME  JUSTICE,  AND  HOW  SHE  APPEARS  WHEN  JUSTICE  IS  TO  BE  DELIVERED. 


The  Law  and  how  different  it  is  Administered 

IN  OUR  Country. 

The  $100,000,000  gold  reserve  in  the  United  States 
Treasury  is  without  any  law,  for  it  was  established  by  John 
Sherman  when  he  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  1875.  No 
need  for  it  but  only  kept  there  for  the  bankers  to  gamble  on. 
They  made  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  make  a  hole  in  it 
and  run  it  down  to  40  or  50  millions,  by  paying  the  expenses 
of  the  government  in  gold,  when  he  can  pay  them  in  silver,  as 
the  law  says  in  coin  and  gives  the  Secretary  the  power  to  use 
his  discretion  about  it.  Now  by  iiaying  the  expenses  in  gold 
it  makes  a  hole  in  the  gold  reserve  and  the  bankers  commence 
to  say  your  credit  is  running  down  and  you  had  better  issue 
some  bonds  and  till  the  hole,  and  the  Government,  do  issue 


The  AVokst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


95 


bonds  and  fill  it.  Then  the  Secretary  digs  another  hole  and 
again  the  same  old  story;  your  credit  is  running  down,  issue 
more  bonds  and  fill  the  hole,  and  by  making  and  filling  the 
holes  God  knows  when  they  will  stop  issuing  bonds. 

Is  the  credit  of  a  man  or  of  a  government  that  keeps 
$100,000,000  in  gold  lying  idle  in  his  safe  (only  there  for 
bankers  to  speculate  with)  any  better  than  another  man  or 
government  that  instead  of  keeping  the  $100,000,000  idle  in 
the  safe  has  it  invested  in  good  paying  properties  that 
bring  him  revenue  and  keeps  it  increasing  and  furnishes 
employment  to  his  fellow  citizens  and  so  increases  wealth? 
That  man  or  government  is  a  progressive  one,  while  the 
other  is  not. 

Now  if  the  One  hundred  million  dollars  gold  reserve  were 
used  and  put  in  such  properties  as  Railroad  and  Telegraph 
lines  that  ought  to  be  owned  by  the  government,  it  would 
bring  revenue  to  the  government  and  employ  citizens  of  the 
said  government  (and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  civilized  govern¬ 
ment  to  take  care  of  its  citizens  if  said  government  wishes  to 
exist,  and  it  is  said  that  a  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  indeed) 
and  stop  strikes,  and  no  extortionate  rate  would  be  charged  for 
transportation  of  any  matter  by  Railroad  or  Telegraph  lines, 
or  even  so  it  would  go  back  to  the  people.  No  paralelling 
of  Railroads  to  freeze  out  small  concerns  and  freezing  out 
of  small  stockholders.  The  post-office  and  the  telegraph 
ought  to  be  combined  together.  The  government  or  the  people 
of  the  United  States  have  done  more  for  the  developing  of  the 
telegraph  invention  than  the  owners,  as  the  government  gave 
Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  $30,000  on  March  3rd,  1843,  for 
an  experiment  of  his  invention,  by  the  passage  of  the  telegram 
bill,  and  the  invention  was  tried  and  it  proved  a  success  on  the 
first  telegram,  which  was  sent  on  Friday,  May  24th,  1844,  at 
8»45  A.  M.  from  Washington  to  Baltimore.  After  it  proved  a 
success  the  money  power  commenced  to  grab  it,  but  before  that 
they  were  saying  Morse  was  crazy  and  he  had  to  work  from 
1832  to  1843  to  get  the  government  to  help  him  out  as  no 
capitalist  or  corporation  would  take  chances  (The  government 
or  the  people  have  given  too  much  money  and  also  land  grants 
to  enrich  a  few  men  and  it  is  about  time  to  stop  and  have 


/ 


96  A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


government  ownership  of  Railroads  and  Telegraph  lines,  and 
stop  strikes  trouble  and  killing  of  j)eople. 

It  has  been  the  defect  and  contraction  of  our  currency  for 
not  having  the  government  issue  it  according  to  business 
demands  that  has  made  it  easy  for  the  moneyed  men  of 
'  England  to  buy  our  best  paying  properties  and  no  wonder 
gold  finds  its  way  to  England.  There  are  9  million  of  mortaged 
homes  in  the  United  States  that  the  money  sharks  are  going 
to  grab,  and  they  are  cutting  wages  to  starvation  and  causing 
strikes  trouble  and  increasing  crime  in  our  land. 

The  Tariff  Question  is  a  sectional  hate  scheme,  and  it  is 
used  by  the  bankers  only  to  keep  the  people  in  the  dark 
concerning  the  main  and  vital  question,  the  money  question, 
and  keep  the  people  divided  in  sectional  hate  and  prejudiced, 
fighting  one  another.  Now  if  the  United  States  government 
protects  one  citizen  it  has  to  protect  the  others,  or  if  it 
protects  the  State  of  Louisiana  with  her  rice,  sugar,  etc.,  it 
must  protect  California  with  her  oranges,  grapes  etc.,  and  so 
on  with  every  State  and  their  industries,  as  they  are  all 
entitled  to  the  same  protection  under  the  same  government; 
protect  all  or  none.  And  by  our  government  having  protected 
certain  citizens  it  created  dissension  and  just  prejudice  by 
the  non-protected  ones,  and  the  bankers  and  money  power 
have  got  in  their  fine  work  and  got  away  with  the  money 
question  and  vicious  laws.  The  money  question  if  properly 
agitated  will  unite  the  people  from  Maine  to  California  and 
from  the  Canadian  line  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  all  the 
American  people  will  be  and  are  interested  in  it,  and  they 
see  now  the  suffering  on  that  account,  so  interest  yourself 
in  the  most  important  question  that  has  and  is  yet  agitating 
the  world,  the  money  question.  Remember  that  the  bankers 
have  no  scruples  and  will  do  it  every  time  and  they  have 
ruined  great  and  powerful  nations  of  this  earth  whenever  they 
had  a  chance  or  a  foothold.  They  will  ruin  ours  if  we  let 
them  go  on,  so  let  us  stop  them  if  we  are  sincere  and  true 
Americans. 


The  Worst  Fh^-ancial  System  in  the  World. 


97 


The  Tariff  question  and  how  it  is  used  by  the  Bankers. 


PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND  ON  SILVER. 

Here  are  the  three  last  paragraphs  of  his  message  of  March 
29th,  1894,  vetoing  the  Bland  Bill  for  the  coinage  of  fifty- five 
millions  of  silver  seignorage  in  our  treasury. 

This  leads  me  to  earnestly  present  the  desirability  of 
granting  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  a  better  power  than 
now  exists  to  issue  bonds  to  protect  our  gold  reserve  when 
for  any  reason  it  should  be  necessary.  Our  currency  is  in  such 
a  confused  condition  and  our  financial  affairs  are  apt  to 
assume  at  any  time  so  critical  a  position  that  it  seems  to  me 
such  a  course  is  dictated  by  ordinary  prudence. 

I  am  not  insensible  to  the  arguments  in  favor  of  coining 
the  bullion  seigniorage  now  in  the  treasury,  and  I  believe  it 

could  be  done  safely  and  with  advantage,  if  the  secretary  of 
7 


98 


A  Gold  Conspikacy,  ok 


the  treasury  had  the  power  to  issue  bonds  at  a  low  rate  of 
interest  under  authority  in  substitution  of  that  now  existing, 
and  better  suited  to  the  protection  of  the  treasury. 

I  hope  a  way  will  present  itself  m  the  near  future  for  the 
adjustment  of  our  monetary  affairs  in  such  a  comprehensive 
and  conservative  manner  as  will  afford  to  silver  its  proper 
place  in  our  currency,  but  in  the  meantime  I  am  extremely 
solicitous  that  whatever  action  we  take  on  this  subject  may 
be  such  as  to  prevent  loss  and  discouragement  to  our  people 
at  home  and  the  destruction  of  confidence  in  our  financial 
management  abroad. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 


Executive  Mansion,  March  29,  1894. 

Mr.  Cleveland  says  that  Congress  should  give  more 
power  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  (which  has  too  much 
power  now)  to  issue  bonds  at  small  rates  of  interest,  so  that 
we  can  then  coin  the  silver  bullion  in  the  treasury;  but  if 
Congress  does  not  give  such  power  we  cannot  coin  it,  and  he 
vetoes  it.  If  we  pay  interest  we  can,  if  we  do  not  pay  interest 
we  can’t,  you  see. 

Which  private  citizen  or  concern  would  go  to  work  and 
issue  his  interest  paying  note  to  another  man  (an  outsider)  for 
the  privilege  of  using  his  own  or  their  material,  that  he  or  they 
have  in  their  store.  Would  you  do  it?  Certaiidy  not.  Now, 
the  people  have  the  Silver  Bullion  in  the  Treasury  and 
want  to  have  it  coined  so  as  to  use  it;  and  Congress  passed 
the  Bland  Seignorage  silver  Coining  Bill ;  the  Senate  passed  it 
too.  Mr.  Banker  sees  Mr.  Cleveland  and  tells  him  that  we 
have  to  issue  bonds  to  pay  them  the  interest  and  then  we  can 
coin  and  use  it,  but  if  we  don’t  pay  them  interest  we  cannot  use 
it,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  vetoes  it;  and  he  is  for  bonds  because  he 
knows  the  reason  why,  there  is  something  loose  somewhere. 
God  may  bless  you  Mr.  President,  but  don't  ffatter  yourself 
that  you  can  play  patriot  or  democrat,  because  you  do  not 
know  how  and  your  own  actions  show  it. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


99 


POINTS  FOR  THE  PEOPLE. 

Lincoln  was  the  President  of  the  people  and  he  opposed  any 
scheme  that  tended  to  rob  them'  He  also  was  against  the  usurers 
and  was  assassinated.  Christ  was  a  bi-metallist  and  preached 
against  usurers  and  for  the  elevation  of  mankind.  He  was  cruci¬ 
fied  for  it.  But  look  to-day  what  the  world  thinks  of  them,  and 
you  will  not  be  able  to  withstand  preaching  the  same  as  they  did, 
and  God  will  be  with  you.  Why  not?  This  is  a  cause  of  hu¬ 
manity  vs.  oppression. 

When  there  is  enough  money  in  circulation  it  will  start  plenty 
of  work,  and  the  result  will  be  good  times  and  prosperity  for  all, 
because  the  working  people  are  the  ones  who  spend  and  put  their 
money  into  circulation  as  soon  as  they  get  it. 

From  1791  (when  gold  and  silver  were  made  the  unit  of  value) 
up  to  1873,  when  this  nation  was  nothing  compared  with  to-day’s 
strength,  the  illustrious  patriots  did  not  need  to  ask  or  wait  for 
the  consent  of  any  other  nation.  A  free,  self  government  that 
has  to  obtain  the  consent  of  a  foreign  power  before  it  can  legislate 
vital  laws  for  its  people  is  no  longer  a  free,  self  government  but 
a  subservient  government  not  worth  having. 

Such  has  been  the  case  with  this  government  since  1873,  and 
it  is  still  evident  with  the  narrow-minded  or  interested  leaders  in 
the  present  financial  imbroglio.  .  Not  only  do  they  not  know  what 
they  want  in  the  way  of  legislation  for  the  relief  of  the  people, 
but,  according  to  the  doctrines  in  vogue,  they  have  to  secure  first 
the  good  will  of  England  or  the  Rothschilds  (which  will  never 
be  given)  and  then  legislate. 

When  John  Bull  adopted  the  gold  standard  in  1816  (three 
years  after  the  defeat  of  Napoleon)  he  did  not  care  a  continental 
for  the  consent  of  any  other  nation.  He  acted  in  accordance  with 
his  own  sweet  will  and  for  the  benefit  of  England,  which  is  a 
creditor  nation  and  whose  best  interest  is  served  by  keeping  up 
the  gold  standard  so  as  to  control  the  world,  which  is  against  her. 
Her  fall  is  not  far  distant.  What  is  the  use,  then,  for  the  United 
States  to  be  a  country  of  enormous  strength,  wealth  and  resources  ? 
If  we  would  only  lead  in  finances,  others  would  surely  follow ; 
but  to  do  this  we  should  not  believe  in  and  be  led  by  the  chicken- 
hearted  politicians  and  newspapers  under  the  control  of  the 
money  sharks. 


100  A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 

Cleveland  made  one  of  his  bluffs  (in  order  to  avoid  criticism 
on  bis  last  bond  sale)  with  bis  Venezuela  message,  which  nearly 
put  this  country  in  a  position  which  meant  nothing  less  than  a 
stupid  war  when  we  were  not  prepared,  possessing  only  a  small 
standing  army  and  an  embryotic  navy.  The  Monroe  Doctrine  is 
most  respectable,  hut  it  is  criminal  to  use  it  as  a  machine  for  the 
benefit  of  the  money  brokers.  The  people  were  deceived  at  first,  but 
better  sense  prevailed.  That  we  must  and  shall  fight  England 
there  is  not  the  least  doubt,  but  it  is  not  on  land  or  sea  we  must 
annihilate  the  British  Lion,  but  attack  it  in  its  stronghold — the 
control  of  the  world’s  finances.  The  Britishers  are  after  our  land 
and  resources.  That  is  what  they  want.  Let  us  come  to  the 
rescue  and  keep  up  the  prices  by  having  more  money  in  circula¬ 
tion  through  bi-metallism  and  retaining  the  control  of  our  pro¬ 
ducts  and  properties.  England  will  have  to  starve  or  come  to 
terms.  This  is  the  true  solution,  and  there  is  no  necessity  of 
going  to  Venezuela. 

When  the  free  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  present  ratio 
of  16  to  1  is  started,  this  countr}^  will  begin  an  era  of  prosperity 
never  equalled  in  her  history,  and  it  will  force  England  into  bi¬ 
metallism  too,  because  the  Latin  Union  will  join  with  us  and 
England  and  Germany  will  be  put  into  a  position  whereby  they 
will  be  the  loosers,  as  it  will  give  the  advantage  to  the  countries 
adopting  bi-metallism  of  receiving  the  difference  on  exchange, 
and  they  will  soon  see  into  it.  This  is  the  true  way  to  universal 
bi-metallism. 

The  money  lenders  of  the  whole  world  say,  that  with  more 
money  in  circulation  the  price  of  products  (necessaries  of  life) 
will  rise,  and  as  they  generally  are  non-producers^  they  oppose  the 
increase  of  money.  Why  ?  Because  they  want  to  get  products 
of  Labor  at  their  own  prices  and  then  squeeze  the  producer. 
They  know  what  is  good;  you  don’t.  The  Bankers  know  what 
a  good  thing  is,  and  they  want  it.  Now,  is  it  not  a  good  thing  to 
take  care  of,  use  and  get  away  with  other  people’s  money  ?  They 
swindle,  menace  and  keep  down  the  masses  with  their  own  weap¬ 
ons  (the  money  which  the  people  keep  in  the  banks),  which  they 
allow  the  bankers  to  have  and  use,  and  they  do  use  it  with  de¬ 
cisive  effect. 

If  you  do  not  wish  to  enslave  your  children  and  yourself,  and 
make  money,  write  at  once  to  the  author  of  this  book  for  terms, 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  101 


then  spread  the  light  and  get  your  friends  to  buy  a  copy  and  read 
it.  They  will  know  then  how  they  have  been  robbed  and  what 
makes  the  hard  times,  no  work  and  deprivation.  Suppose  some¬ 
thing  would  happen  that  would  destroy  all  the  gold  there  is  in 
the  world  out  of  the  earth,  would  the  world  stop  from  existing  ? 
No,  certainly  not.  The  sun  would  rise  and  warm  the  earth,  and 
cabbage  “head”  and  cucumbers  will  grow  as  before.  Yet  there 
are  plenty  of  intelligent  (?)  people  who  believe  that  the  world 
cannot  transact  business  without  gold  as  money.  Why  is  it  that 
the  bankers  want  the  government  to  coin  money  of  gold  and 
they  have  the  issuing  of  paper  money  ?  It  is  because  the  money 
sharks  of  the  world  can  corner  (monopolize)  gold,  of  which  there 
is  not  enough  for  the  smallest  nation  to  do  business  with,  but 
they  want  to  issue  the  paper  money,  because  no  one  can  ever 
corner  it,  as  there  is  too  much  of  it,  provided  the  government 
will  allow  them  to  do  so.  Also,  because  paper  is  cheap,  light  to 
carry  and  answers  the  purposes.  As  a  matter  of  business  and 
economy,  let  us  illustrate:  If  you  needed  money,  or  say  a 
bucket ;  there  were  three  kinds  of  bucket  in  the  market,  one  of 
gold,  §5.00 ;  one  of  silver,  §2.50,  and  one  of  paper,  25  cents — 
any  of  them  would  do  the  work  and  answer  the  purpose — which 
one  would  you  buy  ?  The  world  is  getting  so  enlightened  and 
machinery  of  every  kind  is  improving  all  industries,  but  few 
people  of  the  world  want  to  go  backward  and  contract  the  circu¬ 
lating  medium  of  exchange  (currency),  instead  of  expanding  it, 
according  to  demands.  Why?  Rothschilds  &  Co.  said  they 
want  to  own  the  world  and  all  the  people  in  it.  Will  the  people 
allow  him  to  do  it  ? 

Bimetallism  will  drive  the  many  idle  people  from  the  cities  to 
the  country  to  work.  The  result  will  be  less  misery,  less  crime, 
less  injustice  and  finally  the  elevation  of  mankind,  for  which 
Christ  sacrificed  His  young  life.  What  is  the  matter  wdth  religious 
preachers,  are  they  mortgaged  too  ?  A  better  opportunity  than 
now  to  do  good  will  never  present  itself  Why  don’t  they 
grasp  it? 

Touch  a  man’s  pocketbook  or  tell  him  the  truth  about  his 
crookedness  and  he  will  surely  squeal  and  say  you  are  a  crank, 
an  anarchist  and  many  other  obnoxious  names.  Is  that  good 
argument?  No.  That  is  exactly  the  case  now  with  the  law- 


102 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


protected  crooks  that  criticise  the  people  who  composed  the 
Chicago  Convention.  England’s  newspapers  said  they  were  cow¬ 
boys.  Why  ?  Because  her  agents,  who  went  there,  could  not 
do  as  they  have  done  before,  and  as  a  result,  all  those  interested 
with  her  say  stop  the  anarchist,  because  they  want  to  refuse  to 
pay  us  tribute  any  longer.  Will  you  listen  to  them?  Oh, 
Crank,  Lunatic,  Silver  Crazy,  etc.,  is  this  good  argument  ?  Give 
me  the  monopoly  of  the  currency  of  any  country,  and  take  every¬ 
thing  else,  in  fifty  years  I  will  own  it. 

There  were  two  farmers,  prior  to  1873,  supplying  the  corn  for 
the  chickens  of  this  country.  One  raised  yellow  and  the  other 
white  corn.  As  a  result  there  were  two  kinds  of  corn  on  the 
market.  If  the  farmer  with  the  yellow  corn  wanted  too  much 
for  his  corn  the  chickens  would  buy  and  use  white  corn,  which 
answered  the  purpose,  and  the  owner  would  raise  more  to  supply 
the  customers.  The  farmer  with  the  yellow  corn  sent  his  man 
to  Capitol  Hill  with  plenty  of  yellow  corn,  and  fed  a  few  big 
roosters,  and  they  didn’t  do  a  thing  but  quietly  stop  all  the 
chickens  from  having  plenty  of  white  corn  to  eat.  No  good, 
says  the  roosters  ;  yellow  corn  the  best  to  eat.  The  chickens 
began  starving,  and  the  farmer  with  the  yellow  corn  is  getting 
so  fat  out  of  the  poor  chickens’  many  eggs  that  he  is  ready  to 
burst  out  of  his  clothes.  The  chickens  got  together  in  Chicago 
and  put  forward  a  good  fighting  rooster,  named  White,  to  boss 
the  show  for  them  and  see  that  the  chickens  would  not  be  robbed 
any  longer  of  plenty  of  corn,  white  and  yellow,  and  lay  plenty 
of  eggs  again  by  taking  the  monopoly  off  of  the  good  corn.  The 
yellow  corn  farmer  hired  all  the  roosters  to  sing  for  him  and  to 
stop  the  white  corn  man  from  seeding  and  raising  a  crop  and 
coming  round  with  his  corn  again.  The  chickens  did  not  be¬ 
lieve  those  roosters.  No,  they  got  together  for  the  first  time,  say¬ 
ing  opposition  is  the  life  of  trade,  and  the  chickens  got  and  are 
getting  so  many  good  roosters  on  their  side  that  when  November 
comes  there  will  not  be  none  left  for  the  yellow  corn  agent  of 
Ohio  to  celebrate  with.  The  chickens  mean  business  this  time. 
They  want  plenty  of  corn,  and  they  are  going  to  have  it.  They 
secured  a  farmer  boy  from  a  good  corn-raising  State  too.  He 
can  beat  all  other  roosters  singing.  As  soon  as  the  chickens 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  103 


heard  him  sing,  they  wanted  and  got  him.  Oh  wait  and  see  all 
the  boys’  roosters  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  poor,  good  chickens  that 
lay  the  eggs  for  all,  and  it  will  be  a  great  song  for  more  corn, 
more  fun,  more  Democrats,  more  prosperity.  Plenty  of  corn, 
white  and  yellow.  Victory — doo-doodle-dee-doo  is  the  song. 

The  Irish  National  Convention,  held  at  Chicago  last  October, 
resolved  to  use  every  means  to  cripple  England.  Now  is  the 
right  time  for  our  Irish-Americans  to  do  it  by  voting  against  the 
syndicate  which  will  own  the  candidate  of  the  gold  standard  that 
England  has  foisted  on  to  the  civilized  world  for  her  agrandise- 
ment,  and  by  means  of  which  she  is  enabled  to  keep  Ireland  in 
bondage.  Now  is  the  time  for  every  Irish-American  to  do  it. 

Bryan  is  a  friend  of  Ireland  and  an  enemy  of  England.  Did 
you  see  what  the  English  papers  had  to  say  about  him  and  the 
Chicago  Convention  ?  Cowboys,  anarchists  and  repudiators. 
Poor,  old  England.  The  Irish  will  go  for  you  this  time.  They 
cannot  be  fooled  any  more. 

The  money  power  press  and  the  English  gold  lords,  with  the 
American  Tories,  who  rob  the  American  people  and  spend  the 
stolen  money  in  England,  are  again  trying  to  create  sectionalism 
and  plunge  us  into  a  civil  war  again.  Suppress  the  first  one  that 
talks  sectionalism  to  you,  if  you  are  a  true  American  patriot. 
It  was  England’s  scheme  in  1861-65  to  divide  us,  and  that  was 
the  reason  she  helped  the  South  and  would  have  recognized  them 
if  only  one  great  battle  in  the  North,  such  as  that  of  Gettysburg, 
had  been  decisively  won  by  her.  Be  a  patriot  and  not  a  tool  of 
an  enemy  in  disguise.  The  calling  of  hard  names  by  the  gold 
mortgage  sharks  does  not  give  them  votes,  and  it  only  shows  that 
they  have  no  ground  for  argument. 

Germany  adopted  the  gold  standard  after  she  got  six  billions 
of  francs  in  gold  from  France  as  indemnity  of  war  in  order  to 
make  it  increase  in  value.  About  the  same  time  a  bill  was 
passed  in  Congress,  by  trickery,  demonetizing  silver,  which  no 
one  seems  able  to  account  for. 

How  was  silver  demonetized?  By  what  method  w^ere  the 
United  States  put  upon  a  gold  basis?  Did  any  of  the  old  party 
platforms  twenty  odd  years  ago  demand  the  change?  Not  at 
all.  The  Act  of  1873  was  passed  ‘‘silently;”  a  more  suitable 


104 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


word  would  be  stealthily.  In  evidence  I  quote  from  the  “  Con 
gressional  Record  :  ” 

“  Mr.  Beck  :  What  I  complain  of,  and  what  I  think  I  have  proved,  is  that  the 
House  never  knew  w’hat  was  in  that  bill.”  (First  session  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress. 
Senate. ) 

Senator  Bogy,  of  Missouri,  uttered  the  following  words  in  a 
speech  made  in  the  Senate,  June  27,  1876  : 

‘5  Why  the  Act  of  1873,  which  forbids  the  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar,  was 
passed,  no  one  at  this  day  can  give  a  good  reason.”  (‘‘Congressional  Record,” 
Vol.  4,  part  5,  Forty -fourth  Congress,  first  session,  page  4178.) 

Senator  Hereford,  in  the  Senate,  on  February  15,  1878,  in  the 
discussion  of  the  demonetization  of  silver,  said  : 

“  So  that  I  say  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt  (and  there  is  no  di.sputing  it) 
that  bill  which  demonetized  silver,  as  it  passed,  never  -was  read,  never  was  dis 
cussed,  and  the  chairman  of  the  committee  who  reported  it  (who  offered  the  sub. 
stitute),  said  to  Mr.  Holman,  when  inquired  of,  that  it  did  not  affect  the  coinage  in 
any  way  whatever.”  {Ihid^  page  989.) 

Mr.  Holman,  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Represen¬ 
tatives  July  13,  1876,  said  : 

“  I  have  before  me  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  this  House  on  the  passage  of 
that  measure,  a  record  of  which  no  man  can  read  without  Ijeiug  convinced  that  the 
measure  and  the  method  of  its  passage  through  the  House  was  a  ‘  colossal  swindle.  ’ 
I  assert  that  the  measure  never  had  the  sanction  of  this  Honse,  and  it  does  not  pos¬ 
sess  the  moral  force  of  law.”  (“Congressional  Record,”  Vol.  4,  part  6,  Forty- 
fourth  Congress,  first  session,  appendix  page  193.) 

Senator  Allison,  on  February  15,  1878,  when  the  bill  (H.  R. 
1093)  to  authorize  the  free  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar  was  under 
consideration,  said  : 

“  But  when  the  secret  history  of  this  bill  of  1873  comes  to  be  told,  it  will  dis¬ 
close  the  fact  that  the  House  of  Representatives  intended  to  coin  both  gold  and 

silver,  and  intended  to  place  both  metals  upon  the  French  relation  instead  of  upon 
our  own,  which  'was  the  true  scientific  position  with  reference  to  this  subject  in  1873, 
but  that  the  bill  afterwards  was  doctored.” 

Senator  Stewart,  of  Nevada,  on  April  29th,  1896,  when  in 
open  Senate,  calling  Senator  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  “the  author  of 
hard  times,”  said  : 

“The  original  Act  in  1873  was  passed  through  strategy  and  fraud.  The 
clause  which  demonetized  silver  was  not  read  in  the  Senate  during  the  discussion  of 
the  bill.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  no  mention  was  made  during  the  pendency  of 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  105 


the  Mint  Act  which  demonetized  silver,  that  the  silver  dollar  was  omitted  from  the 
list  of  coinage.  The  Senator  from  Ohio  (Sherman)  had  charge  of  the  bill  and 
never  alluded  to  the  fact  that  he  was  demonetizing  silver  or  adopting  the  gold 
standard.  If  he  had  done  so,  his  object  would  have  been  defeated.” 

Quotations  of  this  character  could  be  pursued  much  further, 
but  the  American  people  ought  to  know  by  this  time  that  they 
need  more  money  in  circulation  to  transact  the  increasing  busi¬ 
ness,  and  they  never  will  get  it  by  contracting  the  currency 
(adopting  the  gold  standard).  France  paid  her  war  debt  to  Ger¬ 
many  before  it  became  due,  surprising  old  Bismarck,  who  said  : 

“  The  greatest  mistake  in  my  life  was  to  not  ask  more  than  six  billion  francs. 
I  thought  she  would  never  be  able  to  pay  it  iu  such  a  short  time.” 

The  French  people  went  to  the  rescue  of  their  country  and 
paid  the  debt,  and  France  owes  it  to  Frenchmen,  her  people.  She 
is  to-day  the  most  prosperous  nation  on  earth.  She  has  $38  per 
capita  circulating  medium,  while  we  only  have  $21.30,  including 
the  $784,000,000  in  the  treasury,  which  is  not  in  circulation,  and 
when  we  consider  our  land  wealth  and  resources  in  comparison 
with  that  of  France,  we  ought  to  have  $250.00  per  capita.  The 
articles  to  be  exchanged  increases  every  day,  and  money  (the 
medium  of  exchange)  should  increase  also  to  facilitate  commerce. 

England  is  getting  away  with  everything  we  have  nowadays, 
while  the  fathers  of  this  country  revolted  against  her  for  only 
20  cents  on  tea,  the  would-be  patriots  are  asleep.  Wm.  Glad¬ 
stone,  in  his  last  speech  in  Parliament,  said : 

“  England  is  the  greatest  creditor  nation  of  the  world.  All  other  nations  are 
in  debt  and  owe  England  $22,000,000,000  in  gold,  and  it  is  to  England’s  interest  to 
keep  up  the  gold  standard  for  our  benefit.” 

Considering  this,  it  does  not  appear  that  England  is  going  to 
agree  to  bimetallism  until  she  is  forced  to  it  and  sees  that  she 
will  be  the  looser,  which  will  be  the  case  as  soon  as  this  country 
starts  it.  France,  Italy  and  Spain  will  follow  and  England  and 
Germany  then  will  come  into  line,  too. 

The  United  States  produces  more  gold  than  any  other  country 
in  the  world,  and,  according  to  the  system  in  vogue,  it  seems  that 
we  go  down  deep  in  the  earth  to  dig  the  yellow  metal  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  sending  it  to  Rothschilds,  who  always  want  more. 

Now,  we  will  suppose  the  Government  wishes  to  build  a 
deep-water  harbor  at  San  Pedro,  California  (where  they  need  one), 
for  the  commerce  of  Southern  California,  and  Congress  passes 


106 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


an  act  authorizing  the.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  issue 
certificates  of  deposit  to  pay  them  for  labor  and  material,  and 
make  them  a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and 
private,  the  harbor  is  the  basis  of  that  currency,  and  all  the 
people  and  all  the  wealth  of  this  Nation  are  the  security. 
Does  anyone  say  that  they  are  not  good?  Explain  if  the 
present  system  of  issuing  bonds  is  any  better. 

Here  is  how  the  bankers  drain  the  gold  from  the  people 
and  from  the  Treasury.  The  merchants  go  and  deposit  their 
money  in  the  banks  ;  the  bankers  assort  it  and  keep  all  the 
Treasury  Notes  redeemable  in  gold,  and  keep  whatever  gold 
the  merchants  may  bring,  and  pay  the  merchants  back  with 
bank  notes  and  silver  certificates  ,  the  merchants  think  they 
have  the  same  amount  of  money,  and  don’t  think  or  knows 
that  the  bankers  plays  that  kind  of  a  joke  every  time  that 
they  deposit  and  draw  their  money,  and  the  bankers  make 
the  profits  or  let  gold  become  scarce  and  create  panics  to  force 
Legislation,  and  sometimes  lock  up  the  bank  and  go  to 
Canada.  See  ? 

Establish  Government  Banks  on  the  Post  Office  plan,  then 
the  people’s  money  will  be  safe,  as  the  Government  cannot 
fail  or  go  to  Canada.  The  people  will  then  borrow  from  the 
people,  and  even  if  they  pay  4  or  5  per  cent  interest  it  goes 
back  to  the  people  and  not  to  England. 


GOLD  MONEY  IN  TIME  OF  WAR 


The  man  who  has  accumulated  gold  money,  when  the 
country  is  in  danger  of  war,  packs  up  his  gold  and  gets  out 
of  the  danger  of  being  killed.  If  he  had  paper  money  he 
would  stay  and  fight  for  his  country  so  as  to  save  his  money, 
that  would  be  lost  if  the  country  was  whipped  and  a  new 
Government  established. 

A  banker  or  money  lender  will  take  your  paper  and  let 
you  have  money,  provided  your  paper  is  backed  by  good 
property  or  labor  ;  the  interest  is  what  he  is  after.  Do  not 
let  them  fool  you  any  longer— they  cannot  fool  me. 

A  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  indeed.  Is  our  government  a 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  107 


friend  of  the  people  or  a  friend  of  England  ?  We  need  more 
circulating  medium  and  England  says  no,  and  our  government 
says  no. 

Cleveland  reviewed  the  actions  of  a  past  administration 
and  said  it  was  wrong  to  recognize  a  Republican  form  of 
government  and  he  was  going  to  correct  the  wrong.  If  the 
Senate  had  stood  in  with  him  he  would  down  a  Republican 
form  of  government  and  seat  a  nigger  queen  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Does  the  constitution  give  him  such  power  ? 
according  to  his  ideas  and  the  way  he  goes  at  it  he  couid  have 
gone  far  back  and  reviewed  the  acts  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
say  that  Jefferson  had  done  wrong  in  writing  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  he  would  go  and  correct  such  wrong  and 
turn  us  over  to  the  Queen  and  the  Gold  Lords  of  England 
that  he  is  trying  to  please.  *  * 

The  Chicago  platform  on  which  he  was  elected  says  ‘  ^  First 
repeal  of  the  Sherman  Act ’  further  on  it  says  ‘  ‘  For  the 
coinage  of  gold  and  silver  without  discrimination.”  He 
fulfilled  one  part  of  the  contract  but  refused  to  fulfill  the 
other  part,  and  he  has  deceived  democracy.  Cleveland 
would  make  a  good  poker  player,  as  he  knows  how  to  bluff, 
after  he  said  what  he  did  about  the  Brice,  Gorman  or 
Wilson  bill,  (party  perfidy  and  dishonor,  etc.,)  he  would  not 
veto  it,  but  made  it  become  a  law  to  give  the  Sugar  Trust  the 
chance  to  get  their  sugar  in  from  Germany  that  was  in  the 
way  coming  here  free  of  duties,  and  give  the  Whisky  Trust 
a  chance  to  get  all  the  whisky  they  could  get  out  of  bond  and 
save  3Gc.  a  gallon.  See  what  he  said  about  the  Bland  Silver 
Bill  when  he  vetoed  it.  These  are  Mr.  Cleveland’s  own 
actions.  I  have  no  grudge  against  the  President,  but  if  he 
has  made  mistakes  it  is  his  own  fault. 

Those  paid  newspapers  and  politicians  that  are  talking  ag¬ 
ainst  an  Income  Tax  for  being  a  class  legislation  that  affects 
the  rich — why  don’t  they  say  anything  about  repealing  the 
National  Banking  Law  ?  Is  not  that  law  a  class  legislation  ? 

Issue  paper  money  from  five  dollars  up  and  let  silver  take 
the  place  of  small  change  from  five  dollars  down. 

The  only  available  strike  is  to  strike  at  election  day  and 
retire  the  money  power  and  corporation’s  tools  forever,  elect 
laborer  and  friend  of  labor,  and  then  they  will  call  the  militia 


108 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


out  and  enforce  the  laws  for  the  benefit  of  all  and  not  for  the 
benefit  of  capital. 


DESTROY  GREENBACKS  IS  THE  LATEST  NEWS 
FROM  LOMBARD  STREET,  LONDON. 


Nationalize  Railroads  and  Stop  Running  them  for 

‘‘  Dividends.’’ 


The  great  daily  of  Chicago,  the  Times ^  is  fighting  valiantly 
for  the  people’s  interests.  Of  the  New  York  bankers,  who 
are  thirsting  for  a  new  issue  of  bonds,  it  says  : 

They  must  not  pretend,  when  they  buy  the  next  issue  of  bonds,  which  of 
course,  Mr.  Cleveland  will  issue,  that  they  are  actuated  by  motives  of  the 
purest  patriotism.  It  is  bad  enough  to  be  robbed  without  having  the  robber 
profess  to  be  doing  a  service  when  he  relieves  you  of  your  watch  and  wallet. 


Of  the  Pullman  boycott  it  says  : 

The  effort  of  the  American  Railway  union  to  break  the  power  of  the  Pullman 
corporation  for  the  everlasting  good  of  organized  labor  is  chivalric,  bold  and 
right. 

In  this  effort  the  union  should  have  the  co-operation  of  every  organization  of 
railway  men. 

The  railroads  intend  to  try  to  make  this  struggle  a  Waterloo  for  organized 
labor.  If  they  succeed  trainmen,  firemen,  engineers  or  other  railroad  employees 
will  find  the  collar  of  the  corporation  made  a  little  tighter  about  their  necks. 

If  Messrs.  Wilkinson,  Sargent  and  Arthur  attempt  to  interfere  to  the  injury 
of  the  Railway  union,  they  will  be  playing  the  cause  of  organized  labor  false. 


It  means  something  when  a  leading  daily  comes  over  to 
the  people  so  fearlessly  as  that.  Buy  of  your  friends,  work¬ 
ingmen,  and  boycott  your  enemies  and  stick  together.  That 
is  the  way  to  win. 

The  Assassination  of  President  Carnot  startled  and 
shocked  the  civilized  world,  the  same  world  that  greets  with 
thunderous  applause  the  news  of  a  battle  where  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  brave  men  are  pierced  with  bullet  or 
bayonet,  or  torn  into  fragments  by  cannon  balls  ;  the  same 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  109 


world  that  looks  on  with  cold  and  heartless  indifference, 
while  millions  of  men,  women  and  children  are  dying  by 
inches  of  slow  starvation  in  the  midst  of  unparalled 
abundance.  Queer  thing  is  human  nature. — Editorial 
Cincinnaitian^  June  30th,  1894. 


THE  FIAT  OF  THE  LAW. 


It  Makes  Gold  Worth  One  Hundred  Cents  that  Cost 

Only  Twenty-two  Cents. 


Having  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  myself  in  years  gone  by,  sailing  against 
“fiat”  money,  I  have  a  great  deal  of  fellow  feeling  for  my  brothers  who  are 
still  so  much  in  the  dark  as  to  keep  on  doing  what  I  did.  That  any  government 
can  legislate  absolute  or  intrinsic  value  into  a  piece  of  paper  or  nickel,  or  copper, 
or  silver,  does  seem  absurd,  don't  it  ?  And  certainly  it  also  seems  absurd  to  say 
that  the  government  can  legislate  value  into  gold.  And  yet  somehow  it  contrives 
to  do  it.  Gold  that  costs  22  cents  to  mine  in  Colorado,  in  some  Avay  gets  to  be 
worth  a  dollar,  by  the  time  the  Government  has  stamped  it.  It  becomes 
valuable,  as  other  things  do,  by  the  operation  of  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand. 
There  is  a  demand  for  money  to  make  exchanges.  Under  the  present  economic 
system  we  can’t  do  all  our  business  by  barter  and  we  must  have  some  repre¬ 
sentative  of  value.  Government  provides  such  a  representative  in  the  shape  of 
legal  tender  coin  and  paper.  If  there  wasn’t  any  demand  for  this  the  govern¬ 
ment  fiat  wouldn’t  give  it  any  value.  And  if  there  wasn’t  any  limit  to  the 
supply  it  wouldn’t  have  any  appreciable  value.  But,  with  a  general  demand 
for  money  to  carry  on  business  and  a  supply  strictly  limited,  money  has  value  in 
exchange — not  intrinsic  value.  It  is  the  fiat  of  the  government  in  making 
money  of  either  kind  legal  tender  that  gives  it  this  value.  So  two  silver  dollars, 
the  metal  in  which  is  worth  in  the  market  only  as  much  as  that  in  one  gold 
dollar,  still  exchange  for  as  much  as  two  gold  dollars.  And  so  a  paper  dollar, 
the  material  in  which  is  worth  only  a  very  small  fraction  of  a  cent,  will  exchange 
for  as  much  as  either  a  silver  or  a  gold  dollar. 

Now  suppose  that  we  hadn’t  an  ounce  of  silver  or  gold  in  the  country  and 
the  government  should  issue  two  thousand  millions  of  dollars  in  treasury  notes 
receivable  for  taxes  and  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  do  you 
imagine  they  would  be  worth  anything — that  they  would  command  any  of  the 
products  of  labor?  You  know  they  would.  And  yet  whatever  worth  or 
exchangeable  value  they  had  w'ould  be  purely  fiat,  as  I  am  not  supposing  that 
they  are  to  be  made  redeemable  in  gold,  silver,  diamonds,  or  anything  else  under 
the  sun.  It  is  the  demand  for  currency,  primarily,  which  gives  money  its  value, 
and  not  the  material  that  composes  it.  When  all  the  people  realizes  this  fact 
we  shall  be  nearing  the  day  of  financial  emancipation. — {Star  Kansan). 


110 


A  Gold  Conspikacy,  ok 


The  people’s  party  is  the  only  party  that  proposes  to  issue  a  purely  American 
money,  based  on  American  wealth  for  circulation  among  Americans,  and  from 
wliich  neither  American  nor  alien  Shylocks  can  extort  interest  for  its  use  by  the 
American  people.  No  more  interest-bearing  bonds  for  ever,  is  its  motto. — 
{Pittsburg  Kansan) 


PREPARE  FOR  ACTION. 


The  Battle  of  Akmagedden  is  at  Hand — A  Nation’s 

Liberties  at  Stake. 


The  United  States  faces  the  greatest  political  contest  of  her  historj'.  The 
daj’S  of  sham  political  battles  are  at  an  end  on  this  coast.  The  mock  wrath 
displayed  by  old  party  leaders  in  the  presence  of  the  rank  and  file,  while  behind 
the  scenes  they  hob-nobbed  with  their  political  opponents,  and  proportioned  the 
spoils,  will  be  changed  this  year  to  a  fight  in  earnest.  The  advent  of  populism, 
vigorous  and  confident,  will  force  the  use  of  tactics  with  which  old  partyites  are 
ill-acquainted.  Spread-eagle  oratory  and  appeals  to  passion  and  prejudice,  and 
bigotry  don’t  go  this  year.  Drafts  drawn  on  long -gone  records  will  be  at  a  big 
discount  in  the  coming  campaign.  ‘  ‘  What  has  your  party  been  doing  in  the 
years  since  it  made  the  records  of  which  jmu  boast  ?”  will  be  the  question  asked 
on  every  hand.  The  people  have  stopped  banking  on  the  deeds  of  their  grand¬ 
fathers.”  “What  of  the  present  ?*’  is  the  potent  inquiry  to-day.  Stop  shouting 
cant  phrases  and  give  us  a  reason  for  the  faith  Muthin  you,  will  be  the  demand  on 
every  fellow  who  bobs  up  to  demand  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 

Poverty  and  bankruptcy,  idleness  and  distress,  crippled  business  and  crushed 
industry,  are  as  widespread  as  the  boundaries  of  the  nation.  Concentration  of 
wealth  is  the  parent  of  it  all.  Special  privilege  was  the  instrumentality  employed. 
All  special  privileges  are  legalized.  The  work  that  accomplished  it  covers  a 
period  of  over  thirty  years.  The  record  shows  that  both  old  parties  were  united 
in  that  work.  The  man  who  defends  the  record  of  either  old  party  this  year  will 
be  at  a  disadvantage.  He  will  be  simply  defending  a  party  whose  votes  in 
Congress  helped  to  legalize  every  special  privilege  that  has  given  to  the  idle 
schemers  the  power  to  absorb  to  themselves  the  product  of  the  workers.  Parties 
whose  past  has  been  a  constant  betrayal  cannot  be  trusted  for  the  future.  The 
promises  of  parties  that  defend  a  record  of  betrayal  and  mismanagement  are 
worthless. 

The  people  will  be  told  by  old  party  men  that  the  evils  complained  of  by 
the  populists  were  not  caused  by  legislation  and  are  beyond  its  reach.  In  the 
next  breath  they’ll  shout ;  “Vote  us  and  everything  will  be  all  right.”  Both 
these  statements  cannot  be  true.  We  have  never  had  these  evils  only  when 
legislation  has  robbed  the  masses  of  their  natural  rights  and  conferred  special 
privileges  on  the  classes.  The  development  of  hard  times  and  the  development 
of  old  party  legislation  have  kept  even  pace  with  each  other  in  this  country. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  Ill 


Side  by  side  along  the  same  road  have  trotted  the  democratic  and  republican 
parties.  Occasionally  they  have  halted  to  engage  in  make-believe  fight  over 
some  minor  issue  to  hoodwink  and  deceive  the  rank  and  file.  But  all  the  time 
they  have  had  an  eye  single  to  the  one  purpose  of  legislating  in  the  interest  of 
wealth  and  power.  The  motto  has  been  :  “To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given  and 
from  him  who  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath.  ” 

Populism  is  a  protest  against  special  privilege.  It  is  an  organized  effort  of 
the  people  to  regain  their  own.  It  is  a  battle  for  the  producer  and  against  the 
sponge.  Its  central  idea  is  best  expressed  in  the  phrases:  “He  who  will  not 
work  shall  not  eat,  ”  and  he  who  cannot  work  shall  not  starve.  The  game  of 
grab  is  played  out  when  populism  wins.  Let  every  one  who  believes  in  justice 
and  equality  before  the  law,  fall  into  line,  under  the  banner  of  the  new  crusade, 
and  never  cease  his  efforts  until  the  cause  of  humanity  triumphs.  Victory  is  in 
the  air.  Let  every  man  do  his  duty. — i^Santn  Cruz  {Cal.)  New  Charter). 


CLEVERLY  CAUGHT. 


It  is  the  Fiat  of  Law  which  gives  to  Metal  its 

Monetary  Value. 


One  of  the  country’s  milk  and  water  bimetallist  dailies  declares  that  if 
Great  Britain  could  be  induced  to  adopt  the  double  standard  there  would  be  no 
trouble  in  maintaining  silver  at  par  on  the  present  ratio  of  16  to  1.  How  so  ? 
We  thought  that  silver  was  a  naturally  depreciated  metal ;  that  the  silver  dollar 
was  worth  only  about  55  cents  and  that  there  was  no  power  on  earth  that  under 
present  conditions  could  make  it  more  valuable.  It  is  a  fact  after  all  that  the 
stamps  of  governments,  the  fiat  of  government,  can  make  a  dollar  a  dollar, 
regardless  of  its  intrinsic  value  ?  It  is  true  that  if  all  governments  should  adopt 
the  double  standard  it  would  cause  an  increased  demand  for  silver,  and  its  value 
would  be  correspondingly  enhanced.  If  the  government  were  willing  to  pay, 
or  admitting  silver  to  free  coinage  practically  pay  100  cents  for  the  amount  of 
silver  now  in  a  silver  dollar,  it  could  not  be  bought  for  less.  But  the  opponents 
of  silver— including  the  daily  referred  to,  we  presume— deny  the  truth  of  that 
statement.  They  say  that  silver  is  depreciated  and  cannot  be  made  equal  to 
gold  in  intrinsic  value.  But  here  comes  this  daily  and  asserts  its  belief  that  the 
stamps  of  the  United  States  and  of  Great  Britain  upon  it  would  keep  it  at  par. 
It  admits  all  that  the  “fiat”  money  people  have  ever  claimed,  and  if  government 
stamps  can  make  a  “55  cent”  silver  dollar  pass  for  100  cents,  they  can  make 
anything  pass  for  a  dollar.  There  is  no  getting  away  from  the  conclusion.  If 
the  premises  are  right  the  deduction  vs,.— {Farmers'  Voice)  Ohio. 


112 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


THE  EUROPEAN  LEVEL. 

American  Labor  may'  have  to  Come  to  it,  but  there  will 

BE  Trouble  First. 

We  have  now  a  record  of  another  case  of  anarchy  in  Col¬ 
umbus. 

H.  R.  Johnson  is  the  Vice  President  and  Manager  of  the 
Columbus  &  Hocking  Coal  &  Iron  Co.,  a  syndicate  owning  or 
controlling  about  6,000  acres  of  coal  land  in  the  Hocking  Val¬ 
ley.  At  the  conference  which  took  place  in  Lyndon  hall, 
Columbus,  on  Saturday,  June  2,  between  the  miners  and  oper¬ 
ators,  Mr.  Johnson  was  present  as  one  of  the  delegates  and 
spokesmen  for  the  operators.  Mr.  William  H.  Crawford,  of 
New  Straitsville,  Perry  county,  O.,  was  present  as  a  delegate 
on  behalf  of  the  miners.  In  that  conference  Mr.  Johnson 
made  use  of  the  following  language  and  treat  to  Mr.  Crawford: 

“  It  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  price  that  shall  be  paid  here  and  there,  but 
a  question  of  bringing  the  American  v/orkman  down  to  the  European  level.” 

]\[r.  Crawford  replied  :  “The  Ohio  miners  stand  firmly  for  70  cents.” 

“  Crawford,”  said  Johnson,  “your  men  are  making  a  mistake  in  taking  this 
stand  ;  the  business  of  this  country  and  the  wages  of  this  country  must  come 
down  to  a  lower  plane  of  prices.  There  must  be  a  leveling-up  process  between 
this  country  and  Europe.  If  you  take  that  stand  we  will  simply  close  our 
mines,  and  hunger,  starvation  and  suffering  will  educate  the  American  workmen 
to  it.” 

Did  anything  more  brutal  and  anarchistic  ever  escape  the 
lips  of  man?  —  {Ohio  Populist). 


Editorial  Chicago  Times ^  June  23rd,  1894. 

Wxjat  is  this  strange  revelation  made  by  examination  of  the  books  of  the 
Santa  Fe  Railroad?  Seven  million  dollars  paid  to  shippers  in  rebates  in  the  last 
Jour  years  in  direct  violation  of  the  plain  provisions  of  the  inter-state  commerce 
law  ?  Will  any  of  the  officials  of  the  railroad  be  indicted  for  this  colossal  law¬ 
breaking  conspiracy  ?  Is  the  matter  to  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  federal 
grand  jury  ?  Will  that  eminent  counsel  to  corporations,  the  attorney-general 
of  the  United  States,  take  action  against  the  insolvent  violators  of  the  law  ? 
The  attorney  for  the  Santa  Fe  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  proceedings  against 
Debs  and  others  for  violation  of  the  inter  state  commerce  law.  Did  he  go  into 
court  with  clean  hands  or  had  he  guilty  knowledge  of  the  way  in  which  corpora¬ 
tion  was  violating  the  same  act  ?  These  are  very  pertinent  questions  just  now. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  113 


LORD  MACAULAY’S  PROPHECY. 

In  a  letter  written  to  Henry  S.  Randall  of  New  York  more 
than  thirty-seven  years  ago  Lord  Macaulay  prophesied  many 
gloomy  things  of  the  American  republic  when  it  should 
become  more  populous.  He  foresaw  in  the  constitution  itself 
the  seal  of  national  disease  and  death,  and  looked  upon  the 
attempt  to  establish  upon  permanent  foundations  a  govern¬ 
ment  of  and  by  the  people  as  utterly  futile.  In  that  letter 
Lord  Macaulay  said  : 

I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  that,  if  we  had  a  purely  democratic  govern¬ 
ment  here,  either  the  poor  would  plunder  the  rich  and  civilization  would 
perish,  or  order  and  property  would  be  saved  by  a  strong  military  govern¬ 
ment,  and  liberty  would  perish.  You  may  think  that  your  country  enjoys  an 
exemption  from  these  evils.  I  will  frankly  own  to  you  that  I  am  of  a  very 
different  opinion.  Your  fate  I  believe  to  be  certain,  though  it  is  deferred  by  a 
physical  cause.  As  long  as  you  have  a  boundless  e.vtent  of  fertile  and  un¬ 
occupied  land  your  laboring  population  will  be  far  more  at  ease  than  the  laboring 
population  of  the  old  world  ;  and,  while  that  is  the  case,  the  Jeffersonian  policy 
may  continue  to  exist  without  causing  any  fatal  calamity.  But  the  time  will 
come  when  New  England  will  be  as  thickly  peopled  as  old  England.  Wages 
will  be  as  low,  and  will  fluctuate  as  much  with  you  as  with  us.  You  will  have 
your  Manchesters  and  Birminghams  ;  and,  in  those  Manchesters  and  Birming- 
hams,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  artizans  will  assuredly  be  sometimes  out  of 
work.  *  *  *  The  day  will  come  when,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a  multi¬ 
tude  of  people,  none  of  whom  has  had  more  than  half  a  breakfast,  or  expects  to 
have  more  than  half  a  dinner,  will  choose  a  legislature.  Is  it  possible  to  doubt 
what  sort  of  legislature  ill  be  chosen?  There  will  be,  I  fear  spoliation.  The 
spoliation  will  increase  the  distress.  The  distress  will  produce  fresh  spoliation. 
There  is  nothing  to  stop  you.  Your  constitution  is  all  sail  an<l  no  anchor.  As 
I  have  said  before,  when  a  society  has  entered  on  this  downward  progress,  either 
civilization  or  liberty  must  perish.  Either  some  Caesar  -or  Napoleon  will  seize 
the  reins  of  government  with  a  strong  hand,  or  your  republic  will  be  as  fear¬ 
fully  plundered  and  laid  waste  by  barbarians  in  the  twentieth  century  as  the 
Roman  empire  was  in  the  fifth,  with  this  difference,  that  the  Huns  and  Vandals 
who  ravaged  the  Roman  Empire  came  from  without,  while  your  Huns-  and 
Vandals  will  have  been  engendered  within  your  own  country  by  your  own  in¬ 
stitutions. 

« 

liorcl  Macaulay  feared  the  spoliation  of  the  rich  by  the 

poor.  The  history  of  this  country  for  the  last  thirty  years, 

on  the  contrary,  is  one  disgraceful  record  of  the  spoliation  of 

the  poor  by  the  combined  forces  of  the  corrupt  and  avaricious 

monopolized  capital.  The  protest  of  the  people,  in  which  the 

plutocratic  press  professes  to  see  the  fulfillment  of  Macaulay’s 

8 


A  (told  Conspiracy,  or 


H4 


prophecy  that  it  must  encroach  no  further  upon  the  people’s 
rights.  It  is  not  directed  against  the  rich  ;  it  simply  advises 
them  that  those  who  labor  have  rights  which  must  not  be 
trampled  under  foot.  The  people  demand  nothing  from 
capital  save  that  it  keep  hands  off  the  inherent  and  inalien¬ 
able  rights  of  all.  The  movement  is  not  an  assault ;  it  is  a 
defence  against  the  aggressions  of  combined  political  and 
commercial  brigandage  which  would  place  the  people  under 
perpetual  tribute  to  the  few.  It  is  an  empathic  reiteration  of 
the  just  principle  communicated  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  when 
Lord  Macaulay,  true  to  his  lordly  scorn  of  the  plain  people, 
so  much  despised:  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all,  special 
privileges  to  none  ’’  Not  much  resemblance  in  that  to  the 
mob  of  the  proletariat  working  destruction  and  desolation, 

which  Macaulay’s  distorted  vision  foresaw.  {Chicago  Times). 

\ 

ON  THE  BRINK  OF  BONDS. 


Gold  Reserve  Gradually  Dwindles  Before  the  Assaults 
OF  Cleveland,  Wall  Street  &  Co. 


There  is  no  cowardly  equivocation  or  beating  about  the 
bush  in  the  style  in  which  the  special  correspondent  of  the 
great  Jeffersonian  democratic  daily,  the  Chicago  Times., 
dishes  up  the  news  from  Washington,  as  follows  : 

The  thermometer  notifies  one  that  this  is  no  time  to  nurse  excitement. 
Therefore  let  us  be  cool.  The  country  is  again  on  the  brink  of  bonds.  Possibly 
370,000,000  this  time.  You  have  not  heard  of  bonds  for  a  week.  That  is  because 
bonds  were  drawing  near.  Right  now  bonds  are  crouching  in  the  underbrush  of 
the  coming  week  like  a  tiger  about  to  spring.  Curtis,  Carlisle’s  understudy,  came 
in  from  New  York  last  night.  He  has  as  near  as  may  be  finished  all  bond 
arrangements.  The  last  one  heard  of  bonds  was  about  six  daj’s  ago.  Car¬ 
lisle  sprang  into  voluntary  print  via  the  press  associations  with  the  word  that  no 
more  bonds  would  be  issued.  As  they  say  in  the  whale-killing  business,  it  was 
simply  a  case  with  Carlisle  of  “up  flukes.”  Our  treasurer  merely  dived.  The 
whale  “sounded.”  The  next  time — and  almost  of  a  verity  within  ten  days— you 
see  Carlisle  in  this  affair.  He  will  come  to  the  surface  and  spout  bonds.  To-day 
the  gold  reserve  went  below  $70,000,000,  As  our  valuable  treasury  closed  its 
game  for  the  day  the  figures,  in  truth,  were  lower  than  $69,000,000.  That  is 
the  figure  to  which  the  conspirators,  whose  firm  epithet  is  Cleveland,  TTall  Street 
«fc  Co,,  have  been  scheming  to  descend.  And  now  come  bonds. 

It  is  a  plot,  a  plain  plot,  without  frills  or  fixings.  During  the  last  month. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  115 


May,  our  famous  treasurer  sold  or  paid  out  $32,000,000  of  gold.  This  makes 
the  record.  It  is  a  million  more  of  gold  than  was  ever  paid  out  in  one  month  by 
our  treasury  in  the  long  history  of  the  government.  During  our  whole  civi[ 
war  no  such  bleeding  of  gold  occurred.  Thirty-one  millions  in  one  month  was 
the  worst  which  ever  chanced  before.  This  May  day  gold  outburst— thirty-two 
unexpected,  record-breaking  millions — smells  mightily  like  a  vast  rat.  Another 
remarkable  feature,  aside  from  the  utter  silence  which  has  waited  on  the 
transaction,  is  that  Carlisle’s  books  depict  the  fact  that  every  dollar  of  his  vast 
out-go  went  to  redeem  greenbacks.  Cleveland,  Wall  Street  &  Co.  mean  to  keep 
within  the  law  while  founding  the  second  bond  edifice,  and  quiet  word  went 
about  to  the  conspirators  on  the  outside  to  present  nothing  but  greenbacks  for 
gold.  Friction  must  be  avoided  and  no  basis  for  carping  criticism  must  exist 
that  ffold  had  been  paid  out  for  silver  notes  and  similar  chips  and  whetstones 
which  legally  do  not  demand  gold. 

“Bring  nothing  but  greenbacks  when  you  come  for  gold,  and  make  no 
noise,”  was  the  message,  shod  with  wool,  which  was  sent  the  noiseless  rounds 
by  Cleveland,  Wall  Street  &  Co.,  to  the  firm’s  bond  pals  on  the  outside.  Of 
course  Carlisle  cut  the  greenbacks  thus  received  immediately  loose  again  in  the 
forty  avenues  through  which  your  Uncle  Sam  spends  money,  so  they  could  be  at 
once  re-collected  by  the  bond  sharps  and  sent  up  again  wherewith  to  buy  more 
gold.  Well,  that’s  all  there  is  to  it.  The  barometer  is  falling  and  it’s  going  to 
presently  storm  bonds. 

By  the  way,  in  the  Chicago  Times  the  people’s  cause  has 
a  powerful  advocate  and,  although  nominally  a  democratic 
paper,  the  Times  fills  a  want  long  felt  by  the  populists  of  the 
territory  tributary  and  contiguous  to  Chicago.  It  matters 
not  by  what  name  a  paper  chooses  to  be  called,  so  long  as  it 
battles  for  the  x^riuciiDles  of  justice,  equity  and  righteousness 
and  stands  for  the  cause  of  pure  democracy  and  against  the 
rule  of  encroaching  monopoly  and  a  plutocratic  oligarchy. 
This  the  Chicago  Times  does,  and  its  editorial  columns  are 
daily  replete  with  advanced  ideas  in  line  with  organized  labor 
demands.  Then,  the  Times  has  opened  a  department  which 
it  calls  the  ‘‘People’s  Forum,”  to  which  it  admits  com¬ 
munications  discussing  the  live  issues  of  the  day  and  reform 
ideas  in  general.  Let  every  reformer  drop  a  card  to  the  Times 
bidding  it  Grodspeed.  Editorial  Cincinnatian^  June  30,  1894. 

Editorial  Cincinnati  Enquirer.  Sept.  25,  1894. 

A  PLEA  FOR  SELF-GOVERNMENT. 

Is  it  not  about  time  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  govern  themselves 
by  insuring  the  enforcement  of  laws  enacted  by  their  representatives  in  Congress? 
This  they  can  only  do  through  the  executive  branch  of  the  Government,  and 


116 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


when  that  fails ,  the  republic  is  being  for  the  time  subverted.  The  people  in  this 
country  are  the  supreme  power.  They  made  the  constitution,  and  they  have 
amended  it.  It  is  the  ultimate  expression  of  their  will  as  to  the  distribution  of 
their  powers.  The  statutes  enacted  by  Congress  under  that  constitution  are  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land.  The  President  has  no  more  right  to  disobey  one  of 
these  laws  than  has  the  humblest  citizen.  He  cannot  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
his  office  until  he  takes  a  solemn  oath  to  see  that  all  the  laws  are  executed  faith¬ 
fully.  For  him  to  set  up  his  judgment  against  any  law  of  the  land,  and  to 
neglect  its  enforcement  because  he  thinks  it  unwise,  is  not  only  an  impertinence, 
but  a  high  crime,  for  which  the  constitution  provides  that  he  may  be  impeached 
and  removed  from  office,  and  made  forever  ineligible  to  hold  office  under  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  Every  man  is  free  to  express  his  opinion  as  to 
the  wisdom  or  folly  of  any  statute,  and  to  advocate  its  amendment  or  appeal,  but 
he  has  no  right  to  obstruct  its  execution  while  it  continues  to  be  law. 

We  are  led  to  these  observations  by  the  flippancy  with  which  a  numerous 
faction  in  this  country ,  including  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  in  its  numbers, 
repudiates  and  obstructs  the  execution  of  the  laws  concerning  money.  The  law 
which  makes  the  standard  silver  dollar  a  legal  tender,  equally  with  the  standard 
gold  dollar,  has  been  treated  with  derision  and  contempt  during  the  past  sixteen 
years  by  Presidents  and  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury.  That  dollar  has  been 
denounced  as  a  “clipped"  dollar,  a  “dishonest’’  dollar  and  a  “fifty  cents” 
dollar.  Upon  every  silver  certificate  issued  under  the  Bland- Allison  act  of  1878 
is  printed  a  declaration  that  the  silver  dollar  it  represents  is  in  the  Treasury  and 
belongs  to  the  holder  of  that  certificate,  and  also  that  the  certificate  is  receivable 
for  all  dues  to  the  Government.  These  certificates  were  issued  for  the  con¬ 
venience  of  the  public,  because  any  man  would  rather  carry  a  paper  note  in 
his  pocket  than  either  a  gold  or  a  silver  coin/’’  Among  the  devices  resorted  to 
by  the  Treasury  department  to  make  the  silver  dollar  unpopular  has  been  that 
of  paying  out  inconvenient  amounts  of  silver  instead  of  silver  certificates. 
Government  employees  have  been  made  to  receive  silver  dollars  instead  of  silver 
certificates  in  the  hope  that  the  increase  in  the  actual  silver  circulation  would  make 
silver  unpopular.  Among  the  falsehoods  circulated  industriously  by  the  gold 
advocates,  in  and  out  of  office,  is  that  which  asserts  that  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
silver  money  in  circulation.  The  falsehood  in  this  consists  in  withholding  the 
fact  that,  for  the  silver  dollars  in  the  Treasury,  paper  certificates  to  the  full  ex¬ 
tent  of  them  are  in  circulation.  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury  have  insulted  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  by  complaining  that  the  coining  of  dollars  would  have 
to  be  stopped  because  the  vaults  of  the  Treasury  were  crowded.  Every  man  of 
any  sense  knows  that  it  would  cost  but  little  time  or  money  to  build  vaults  that 
would  contain  all  the  silver  in  the  world.  If  there  is  a  surplus  wheat  crop,  new 
warehouses  are  built,  and,  in  view  of  the  unoccupied  space  in  the  United  States, 
it  would  not  seem  difficult  to  provide  room  for  an  additional  few  feet  of  storage 
room  if  the  same  should  be  needed  for  silver  dollars ,  represented  by  silver 
certificates  in  circulation  among  the  people. 

But  Government  officials  have  not  contented  themselves  with  deriding  the  law 
which  makes  the  silver  dollar  a  legal  tender.  They  have  refused  to  execute  it. 
They  have  refused  to  treat  it  as  the  money  of  redemption,  which  it  is  under  the 
plain  letter  of  the  law.  They  have  clamorously  asserted  that,  despite  the  law, 
the  Treasurv  Department  would  redeem  its  notes  only  in  gold.  This  was 


The  WoEST  Financial  System  in  the  Wokld.  117 


accompanied  with  declarations  to  the  effect  that  the  standard  silver  dollar 
coined  under  the  law,  and  its  value  fixed  by  the  law  was  not  of  that  value.  The 
constitution  provides  that  Congress  shall  have  the  power  “  to  coin  money  and 
regulate  the  value  thereof,”  Presidents  and  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury  and  their 
underlings,  strikers  and  spokesmen,  have  filled  the  air  with  their  noisy  din  that 
Congress  should  not  fix  the  value  of  the  money  coined  under  its  laws.  The 
constitution  never  provided  that  the  coin  value  of  money  should  be  regulated  by 
a  manufactured  market  price  for  bullion.  It  did  not  provide  that  an  artificial 
price  for  silver  bullion  should  be  created  by  shutting  the  doors  of  the  mints 
against  it,  and  that  from  that  time  forward  silver  dollars  should  be  worth  only 
what  they  would  fetch  by  the  pound  after  being  melted  up.  It  provided  that 
the  value  fixed  by  Congress  should  be  the  value  of  all  coins,  and,  thus  far,  the 
opponents  of  silver  have  not  been  able  to  reduce  the  value  of  the  silver  dollar  the 
least  fraction  of  a  cent  below  the  value  of  a  gold  dollar.  Where  can  you  buy  in 
this  country  more  goods  for  one  hundred  gold  dollars  than  for  one  hundred  silver 
dollars  ? 

The  resumption  act  of  1875  took  effect  in  1879,  when  John  Sherman  was 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Although  the  Bland-Allison  act  of  the  previous 
year  had  restored,  with  its  full  legal  tender  quality,  the  silver  dollar,  which  Mr. 
Sherman  had  surreptitiously  abolished  in  1873,  he  commenced  the  policy  of  treat¬ 
ing  gold  coins  as  the  only  money  of  redemption.  He  piled  up  8100,000,000  of 
gold  in  the  Treasury  with  which  to  redeem  the  greenbacks.  Nobody  wanted  the 
silver  or  gold  either,  and  SO  the  people  kept  their  greenbacks,  and  the  Treasury 
kept  its  gold.  But  in  all  the  public  utterances  of  Mr.  Sherman  and  his  suc¬ 
cessors,  and  of  the  Presidents  who  appointed  them,  the  world  had  been  given  to 
understand  that  the  laws  of  Congress  concerning  silver  money  were  not  to  be 
treated  as  laws  by  the  Executive  branch  of  the  Government,  but  only  as  the 
vaporings  of  lunatics. 

Under  the  Bland-Allison  act  only  two  million  dollars  a  month  of  silver  were 
being  coined.  The  people  chafed  at  this  restriction  and  at  their  congressional 
elections  sent  free  coinage  majorities  to  Congress  and  re-enforced  the  silver 
majorities  in  the  Senate.  Then  was  playing  upon  the  people  the  monumental 
fraud  of  the  Sherman  purchase  act.  Under  this  purchase  and  coinage  of  two 
millions  of  dollars  of  silver  per  month  was  stopped,  and  the  purchase  of  four 
millions  of  ounces  per  month  was  substituted.  For  this  Treasury  notes  were  to 
be  issued,  and  the  silver  bullion  so  purchased  was  by  the  law  required  to  be 
coined  as  rapidly  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  deemed  necessary  for  the 
redemption  of  the  Treasury  notes  with  which  it  was  purchased.  These  notes 
were  made  payable  in  “coin,”  and  so  read  upon  their  face.  Then,  as  if  to 
remove  all  doubt  that  coin  included  silver  as  well  as  gold,  the  law  provided  in 
express  words  that  the  notes  should  be  payable  in  either  silver  or  gold,  at  the 
option  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  This  guarantee  of  the  use  of  silver 
dollars  in  the  redemption  of  the  Treasury  notes  has  been  made  a  nullity  by  the 
Treasury  Department,  commencing  when  Charles  Foster  was  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  He  decided  in  the  interest  of  the  Austrian  Government,  which  then 
needed  our  gold,  that  he  would  exercise  his  option  under  the  Sherman  act  by 
redeeming  in  gold  only  the  notes  issued  only  for  the  purchase  of  silver  bullion. 
Having  thus  decided  that  he  would  not  pay  out  any  silver  coin  for  the  redemp¬ 
tion  of  these  notes,  it  naturally  followed  that  the  amount  of  silver  bullion 


118 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


necessary  to  be  coined  for  their  redemption  would  be  simply  none  at  all.  This 
encouraged  the  foreign  bankers  to  drain  our  Treasury  of  gold,  which  they  did 
by  buying  silver  bullion  and  exchange  it  with  the  Government  for  Treasury 
notes,  and  then  demanding  the  gold  coin  for  those  notes.  Thus  we  exchanged 
our  gold  for  their  silver  and  allowed  the  silver  thus  bought  to  accumulate 
instead  of  being  coined.  Then  came  the  outcry  that  we  were  buying  “pig 
metal,  ”  which  would  have  to  be  sold  by  the  pound.  The  purchase  of  h  was 
stopped  by  the  repeal  of  the  Sherman  purchasing  act,  but  the  promise  to  provide 
for  coining  all  silver  as  well  as  all  gold  which  might  be  presented  at  our  mints, 
without  any  discrimination  against  either,  has  not  only  never  been  performed, 
but  it  has  been  treated  by  the  gold  faction  as  a  monstrous  proposition  recently 
heard  of  for  the  first  time. 

These  perversions  of  the  law  by  the  Treasury  Department  are  violations  of 
the  law.  The  attempt  to  discredit  any  coin  of  the  United  States  is  an  obstruction 
to  the  execution  of  the  coinage  laws. 

The  foregoing  review  of  the  silver  situation  seems  called  for  at  this  time  by 
the  renewed  activity  by  the  gold  speculators,  and  their  instruments  in  oflQce,  in 
their  opposition  to  free  silver  coinage.  They  have  been  suddenly  aroused  by 
the  trumpet  call  of  the  Ohio  Democracy  for  the  restoration  of  silver  to  the  side 
of  its  companion,  gold,  as  the  money  of  the  constitution.  They  appear  to 
believe  that  the  people  rule  in  this  country  only  by  their  consent,  and  their 
representative  have  no  right  to  frame  laws,  and  have  them  executed,  which  are 
not  approved  by  dealers  in  gold.  But  the  people  are  likely  to  move  on  without 
regard  to  their  frantic  outcries,  and  in  1896  they  will  not  make  the  mistake 
which  they  made  in  1892 — of  electing  a  Congress  largely  in  favor  of  free  silver 
and  a  President  bound  hand  and  foot  to  the  service  of  the  gold  kings.  They 
will  choose  a  Chief  Magistrate  who  will  execute  the  laws  concerning  money 
which  their  representative  will  enact.  We  hail  the  violence  of  the  gold  press  as 
proof  that  they  read  the  handwriting  on  the  wall ,  and  that  the  deliverance  of  the 
Ohio  Democratic  State  Convention  on  the  subject  of  silver  is  properly  regarded 
by  them  as  the  most  important  step  yet  taken  in  the  campaign  for  the  redress  of 
wrongs  long  endured.  Free  silver  will  be  the  banner  cry  of  the  Democracy  in 
1896,  and  there  acts  will  be  recruited  by  the  advocates  of  free  coinage  through¬ 
out  the  land  without  regard  to  previous  party  affiliations. 


JOHN  SHERMAN  AND  AN  HONEST  DOLLAR. 


Senator  Sherman  is  reported  as  renewing  his  devotion  to  what  he  calls  the 
‘‘honest  dollar.”  Mr.  Sherman’s  idea  of  an  honest  dollar  is  one  that  is  made 
heavier  from  time  to  time,  so  that  it  will  buy  more  goods  and  pay  more  debts 
than  before.  More  than  any  other  man  in  the  whole  world  he  is  responsible  for 
the  demonetization  of  silver  throughout  the  world.  The  European  mints  were 
not  closed  to  silver  until  Mr.  Sherman  had  guaranteed  that  the  United  States 
would  pursue  a  similar  policy.  Having  sold  us  all  out  to  the  great  bond 
brokers  of  London  and  Germany,  he  delivered  the  goods  by  stealth.  Uncle  Sam 
was  blindfolded  by  him  and  led  into  the  pit  of  the  gold  standard  of  1873.  He 
had  struggled  ever  since  to  get  out  of  that  pit,  and,  in  1878,  and  again  in  1890, 
was  about  to  stand  once  more  on  firm  ground ,  when  political  jugglers,  en- 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World. 


119 


gineered  by  John  Sherman,  tripped  him,  and,  by  their  dexterity,  overcame  his 
giant  strength  and  sent  him  again  into  the  pit. 

By  the  demonetization  of  silver  Mr.  Sherman  inaugurated  the  era  of  dishonest 
money.  By  an  act  of  legislative  trickery  he  increased  the  value  of  every  dollar 
in  the  United  States  by  two-thirds.  He  did  not  do  this  by  adding  to  the  weight 
of  each  dollar^  but  he  reduced  the  number  of  dollars.  What  would  the  world 
have  said,  and  what  would  the  American  people  have  said,  if  they  had  discovered 
that  Mr.  Sherman  had  changed  our  dollar  in  such  a  way  as  to  put  two  dollars 
into  one — one  being  gold  and  the  other  silver  ?  Did  he  not  do  exactly  the 
equivalent  of  this  when  he  drove  out  the  silver  dollar,  and  left  only  the  gold 
dollar  to  stand  for  both  ?  Dollars  are  valuable  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
them  in  existence.  The  gold  men  all  tell  us  this  whenever  there  is  any  move¬ 
ment  to  increase  the  volume  of  money.  They  are  then  greatly  alarmed  about 
the  disasters  that  will  follow  inflation.  They  deprecate  any  increase  in  the 
number  of  dollars,  because,  they  say,  the  price  of  commodoties  will  increase, 
and  that  this  will  lead  to  wild  speculation.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  if  an 
increase  of  the  number  of  dollars  in  the  world  will  injure  the  owner  of  money, 
by  diminishing  the  purchasing  power  of  each  dollar,  then  any  reduction  in  the 
number  of  dollars  in  the  world  must  injure  the  owners  of  any  other  kinds  of 
property  by  increasing  the  purchasing  power  of  each  dollar  and  reducing  the 
number  of  dollars  for  which  any  given  commodity  will  sell.  Any  interference 
with  the  number  of  dollars  in  the  world,  except  by  such  an  increase  of  them  as 
is  rendered  necessary  by  the  steady  increase  of  the  business  use  for  money,  is  a 
crime  of  the  same  nature  that  an  alteration  in  the  length  of  a  yard  stick,  the 
size  of  a  bushel  measure,  or  of  any  means  of  ascertaining  quantities  would  be. 
When  Mr.  Sherman  abolished  the  silver  dollar  he  added  to  the  mortgage  on 
every  man’s  farm  and  every  mechanic’s  home  an  additional  burden,  making  him 
owe  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  dollars  for  every  one  hundred  dollars  that  he 
owed  before  that  time.  Contraction  does  the  same  injury  to  the  debtor  class 
that  inflation  does  to  the  creditor  class. 

The  world’s  business  is  largely  transacted  upon  faith.  The  sovereign  power 
to  coin  money  and  to  regulate  its  value  is  laid  by  every  nation,  to  be  exercised 
for  the  protection  of  the  people,  and  to  hold  the  balance  equal  between  those 
who  borrow  and  those  who  lend.  When  a  Government  allows  itself  to  become 
an  instrument  of  oppression  and  to  alter  the  relation  between  money  and  other 
property,  it  commits  an  act  of  confiscation.  It  does  worse  than  that,  it  creates 
the  apprehension  that  the  same  thing  will  be  repeated  whenever  the  interest,  or 
rather  the  avarice  of  usurers,  may  demand  it.  Mr.  Sherman  has  led  his  Govern¬ 
ment  into  the  commission  of  this  crime.  He  has  abolished  honest  money  in  this 
country  by  lessening  the  mimber  of  dollars,  and  thereby  increasing  the  value  of 
each  dollar.  Those  who  seek  to  repair  this  wrong  and  to  restore  silver  to  the 
place  it  occupied  in  our  money  system  prior  to  1873  are  the  only  advocates  of 
honest  money. 

The  advocates  of  dishonest  money,  although  a  pitiful  minority,  hope  to 
prevent  the  restoration  of  silver  coinage  in  the  future  as  they  have  in  the  past, 
by  the  corrupt  use  of  money.  They  do  not  have  to  control  many  men.  If  they 
can  name  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  he  can  easily  prevent  the 
consideration  of  a  free  coinage  bill.  If  they  have  a  majority  of  one  in  the 


120 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


Finance  Committjee  of  the  Senate  they  can  stifle  a  free  coinage  bill  in  committee. 
But  if,  unfortunately  for  them,  a  vote  is  forced  in  both  Houses  and  a  free 
coinage  bill  is  passed,  they  must  then  have  a  President  who  will  veto  the  bill. 
The  Bland- Allison  Act,  which-  permitted  the  purchase  and  coinage  of  two 
millions  of  silver  dollars  per  month,  was  passed  over  the  veto  of  President 
Hayes  in  1878.  The  gold  ring,  taking  warning  from  that,  has  never  permitted  a 
free  coinage  bill  to  reach  the  President.  Several  times  they  have  succeeded  in 
choking  such  a  measure  to  death  in  the  meshes  of  parliamentary  rules  in  the 
House.  During  Mr.  Cleveland’s  flrst  term  and  during  Mr.  Harrison’s  term  tlie 
restoration  of  free  coinage  was  only  prevented  by  preventing  a  vote  from  being 
taken  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Thus  dishonest  money  has  been  perpetuated  in  this  country  by  the  same 
power  that  inaugurated  it.  If  Mr.  Sherman  really  wants  to  see  an  honest  dollar 
made  current  in  this  country,  let  him  leave  the  service  of  the  gold  ring,  and  aid 
in  undoing  the  wrong  which  he  engineered  in  1873.  Let  him  aid  in  preventing 
the  emissaries  of  foreign  bankers  and  their  American  correspondents  from 
corrupting  our  State  and  National  Conventions.  Let  him  join  the  friends  of 
honest  money  in  selecting  for  his  party  a  Presidential  candidate  who  will 
honestly  serve  the  people.  Instead  of  dishonestly  serving  the  money  power,  who 
will  not  barter  the  official  appointments  within  his  gift  for  votes  against  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  ;  who  will  not  dishearten  the  advocates  of  silver  by  threatening 
to  crush  with  his  veto  any  silver  measure  that  may  be  laid  before  him,  but  who 
will,  on  the  contrary  sympathize  with  the  people  in  their  desire  to  remove  the 
yoke  of  their  present  taskmasters,  and  to  restore  the  measure  of  values  which 
includes  silver  with  gold  as  the  basis  of  our  money  system. 

Mr.  Sherman  is  an  old  man.  It  has  been  in  his  power  to  do  more  harm  to  his 
countrymen  than  they  have  suffered  from  all  other  causes  during  the  nation’s 
existence ,  and  he  has  fully  improved  his  opportunity.  The  industries  of  this 
country  have  for  many  years  been  afflicted  with  a  creeping  paralysis  by  his 
course  on  the  silver  question.  They  exhibit  no  signs  of  improvement.  The 
reduction  of  duties  on  imports  does  not  seem  to  have  revived  importations.  The 
greatest  boon  which  could  come,  and  one  that  would  revive  the  spirits  of  our 
people  and  lead  to  legislation  that  would  restore  prosperity,  would  be  the 
conversion  of  John  Sherman  from  his  present  ways.  If  he  could  be  made  to  see 
a  great  light,  like  that  which  blinded  Saul  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  and  if,  like 
Saul,  he  could  be  changed  from  doing  evil  to  doing  good,  he  would  be  looked 
upon  for  all  time  to  come  as  the  benefactor  of  his  race.  He  would  then  see  in 
circulation  the  honest  dollar  for  which  he  says  he  is  longing — a  dollar  that 
would  only  buy  a  dollar’s  worth,  a  dollar  that  would  extinguish  a  dollar  of 
indebtedness  ;  a  dollar  that  would  bring  the  farmer’s  products  to  their  former 
standard  ;  a  dollar  which  would,  by  its  stability  in  value,  encourage  enter¬ 
prises  and  remove  the  congestion  of  money  in  the  great  banking  centers, 
caused  by  the  fear  of  investing  in  the  face  of  continually  falling  prices  ;  a 
dollar  that  would  take  the  place  of  the  dishonest  dollar  created  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr.  Sherman  to  enable  money  lenders  to  convert  other  people’s 
property  to  their  own  uses  without  consideration. 

The  Democratic  party  of  Ohio  waits  for  no  man’s  conversion.  TYith  a  deep 
sense  of  its  responsibility  for  having  allowed  Mr.  Sherman  to  represent  Ohio 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  121 


in  the  Senate,  it  leads  the  way  in  the  restoration  of  silver  coinage,  which  he 
abolished.  It  exhorts  all  who  believe  in  honest  money  to  join  in  this  year  in 
placing  Ohio  on  the  right  side  of  the  question. 

Editorial  Cincinnati  Enquirer^  Oct.  30tli  1894. 


WHY  AMERICA  IS  INCREASING  IN  CRIME? 


I’ve  been  thinking,  Uncle  Sam,  I’ve  been  thinking, 
And  my  thoughts  I  can  scarcely  define  ; 

I’ve  been  thinking  why  people  can  wonder 
At  America’s  increase  of  crime. 

Cries  old  Uncle  Sam  :  It’s  a  poser. 

There  is  something  I  can’t  understand  ; 

I  would  give  up  a  trifle  to  know,  sir. 

Why  crime  should  increase  in  our  land — 

We  have  plenty  of  gold,  I  am  told,  sir  ; 

We  have  heaps  laid  away  in  the  store,  sir, 

Guarded  with  bolts  and  bars,  sir. 

And  still  there  is  an  increase  of  crime. 

Stop  Uncle  Sam,  please  stop. 

And  if  you  do  you  will  be  on  top. 

Change  your  mind,  don’t  issue  bond, 

Because  that  is  what  the  Banker’s  want. 

You  want  to  know  the  reason  why  ! 

Your  pile  goes  low  and  their’s  goes  high. 

It’s  quite  true  what  you  say.  Uncle  Samuel, 

We  have  gold  laid  away  in  store, 

Mouldy  with  mildew  and  rust,  sir. 

And  guarded  with  heavy  iron  doors  ; 

While  you,  like  a  dog  in  your  manger, 

Your  gold  to  yourself  vou  confine. 

When  a  little  would  make  a  great  change,  sir. 

In  this  terrible  increase  of  crime  — 

For  expense  you  don’t  care  a  jot,  sir  ; 

Politicians  you  feed  a  whole  lot,  sir. 

While  the  poor  man  with  hunger  may  rot,  sir. 

And  still  there  is  an  increase  of  crime. 

Stop,  Uncle  Sam,  please  stop. 

And  if  you  do  you  will  be  on  top. 

Change  your  mind,  don’t  issue  bond, 

Because  that  is  what  the  Banker’s  want. 

You  want  to  know  the  reason  why  ! 

Your  pile  goes  low  and  their’s  goes  high. 

Can  you  wonder  at  crime — can  you  wonder, 

When  you  meet  the  police,  on  their  beat. 
Arresting  the  poor  car-monger 
For  earning  his  bread  in  the  street  ? 

While  the  thief  on  the  corner  stands  grinning 
In  the  broad  open  light  of  the  day  ; 

Your  pockets  he  will  pick  for  a  shilling. 

And  the  law  cannot  touch  him,  they  say — 
While  he  laughs  with  contempt  and  derision, 
Defies  all  your  police  division. 

This  poor  carter  you  cast  into  prison. 

Uncle  Sam,  can  you  wonder  at  crime  V 


122 


A  Gold  Conspiracy,  or 


Stop  Uncle  Sam,  please  stop, 

And  if  you  do  you  will  be  on  top. 

Change  your  mind,  don’t  issue  bond. 

Because  that  is  what  the  Banker’s  want. 

You  want  to  know  the  reason  why  ! 

Your  pile  goes  low  and  their’s  goes  high. 

It’s  quite  true  what  you  say.  Uncle  Sam,  sir, 

Temptation  is  hard  to  resist. 

Just  look  at  our  poor  needle  girls,  sir. 

Trying  their  best  to  subsist  , 

Can  you  wonder  at  their  prostitution. 

When  blood-sucking  firms  barely  give 
Enough  to  ward  off  destitution  ? 

Although  she  is  poor,  she  must  live — 

There  is  our  poor  servant  girl,  God  defend  her. 

With  feelings  as  pure  and  tender 
As  our  proud  city  ladies,  remember — 

Uncle  Sam,  can  you  wonder  at  crime  ? 

Stop  Uncle  Sam,  please  stop. 

And  if  you  do  you  will  be  on  top. 

Change  your  mind,  don’t  issue  bond. 

Because  that  is  what  the  Banker’s  want. 

You  want  to  know  the  reason  why  ! 

Your  pile  goes  low  and  their’s  goes  high. 

Just  think  while  you  are  drinking  your  wine,  sir, 

How  the  poor  of  our  land  they  are  fed. 

While  you  with  your  rich  folks  can  dine,  sir, 

’Tis  a  God-send  for  them  to  get  bread  ; 

Go  visit  the  house  of  the  poor,  sir. 

Such  sights  you  will  never  behold — 

The  prison  dens  go  and  expose,  sir, 

Then  scatter  your  hoarding  of  gold — 

When  a  little  would  soon  break  asunder 
The  chains  that  the  poor  sufferer  is  under. 

Go  list  to  that  great  voice  of  hunger, 

And  never  more  wonder  at  crime. 

Stop  Uncle  Sam,  please  stop, 

And  if  you  do  you  will  be  on  top. 

Change  your  mind,  don’t  issue  bond. 

Because  that  is  what  the  Banker’s  want. 

You  want  to  know  the  reason  why  1 

Your  pile  goes  low  and  their’s  goes  high  I 

Ambition  sure  with  patience  bore, 

Money-changers’  Trust  are  in  vain  ; 

McKinley-Hanna  better  have  stayed  home 
And  eased  their  foolish  pain. 

Stop  their  object  for  they  are  for  gain, 

Cease  their  hope  for  the  ambition  is  vain. 

Calm  the  tumult  of  your  breast, 

For  bi-metallist  will  vote  ^mu  to  rest, 

McKinley-Hanna  will  have  a  better  opinion  of  the  people 
after  election. 


The  Worst  Financial  System  in  the  World.  123 


In  concluding,  I  quote  an  extract  from  an  English  financial 
newspaper  published  after  the  defeat  of  the  Dingley  Bill : 

]\Iaech  10,  1896. — The  London  Financial  Neics  says  : 

The  financial  situation  in  the  United  States  is  very  serious.  The  Senate  has 
blocked  all  relief  measures  proposed  by  President  Cleveland,  and  Congress  is  at  a 
dead  standstill  on  the  money  question.  The  Free  Coinage  Senators  are  masters  of 
the  situation.  The  condition  of  affairs  in  the  United  States  demands  the  immediate 
attention  of  British  financiers  and  statesmen.  The  trade  of  the  world  is  in  our  hands, 
but  it  "will  not  long  remain  there  if  the  United  States  goes  to  a  bimetallic  basis,  with 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver.  With  the  addition  of  silver  to  the  volume  of 
money,  everything  in  America  would  take  on  a  new  face  ;  labor  and  all  industry 
would  gain  new  life.  The  grip  of  the  Gold  Standard  on  the  products  of  the  world 
would  be  loosened  and  prices  would  rise.  Great  Britain  would  lose  her  markets  in 
South  America,  Asia  and  Europe,  and  American  ships  would  not  be  long  in  captur¬ 
ing  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world.  British  creditors  must  now  apply  themselves 
quickly  to.  the  American  money  problem. 

The  sound  money  men  and  Banking  interests,  led  by  Senator  Sherman,  Cleveland 
and  Carlisle,  with  plentiful  supply  of  means,  have  been  beaten.  The  American 
people  are  now  thoroughly  aroused  and  educated  on  the  power  and  use  of  money, 
and  made  desperate  by  debt  and  business  depression  they  are  forcing  free  silver  as  the 
main  issue.  Great  Britain  need  fear  no  injury  to  her  trade  or  investments  if  the 
Republican  party  can  force  ‘  ‘  protective  tariff  ’  ’  as  the  main  issue  in  the  coming 
Presidential  campaign.  But  if  free  silver  dominates  the  American  minds  and 
carries  it  to  the  polls,  it  will  bring  about  a  change  in  England  that  will  be  ruinous 
from  its  suddenness  and  severity.  The  damage  that  can  be  done  British  manufac¬ 
tures  by  a  protective  tariff  is  slight  compared  with  the  disasters  that  would  be  en¬ 
tailed  by  a  change  iiomsi  single  gold  to  a  complete  bimetallic  standard.  It  is  evident 
that  the  Democratic  party  will  not  renominate  a  man  who  holds  President  Cleve¬ 
land’s  ideas  on  money,  and  the  only  hope  for  a  continuation  of  Mr.  Cleveland’ s  finan¬ 
cial  policy  veill  he  in  the  success  of  the  Republicans  in  the  next  election.  The 
success  of  free  coinage  will  bring  down  the  rate  of  interest  on  money  and  cause  an 
immediate  rise  in  the  price  of  all  commodities.  When  silver  becomes  primary 
money  the  American  mines  will  pour  their  products  into  the  mints,  and  a  new  era, 
similar  to  that  produced  by  the  issue  of  greenbacks  during  the  Civil  War  will  begin. 
Gold  will  leave  the  banks  and  enter  into  competition  with  silver  in  the  avenues  of 
trade,  and  the  manufactories  of  the  United  States,  which  have  been  shut  down  or 
crippled  since  1892,  will  resume  their  fight  for  English  markets.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  Republican  party  can  be  held  much  longer  in  check  by  sound  money 
statesmen,  as  its  adherents  are  divided  by  powerful  factions.  The  Democratic 
party  is  also  breaking  up  under  the  weight  of  the  free  silver  agitation.  It  matters 
not  to  Great  Britain  which  party  succeeds  if  the  gold  standard  is  maintained,  but  if 
either  of  the  old  parties  or  a  new  party  goes  into  power  pledged  to  free  coinage,  it 
will  be  inimical  and  prejudicial  to  English  mnnufactories  and  trade. 

The  American  people  cling  with  wonderful  tenacity  to  party  organization, 
hut  financial  embarassment  and  business  stagnation  has  become  too  severe  for  their 
patience,  and  they  are  ready  for  any  change  that  promises  relief.  They  are  becoming 
convinced  that  it  cannot  be  found  in  the  protection  theory,  as  that  has  been  tried,  and 
they  are  massing  now  on  free  silver.  When  that  issue  comes  fairly  before  the  American 
people  England  will  regret  her  apothy  and  adherence  to  the  gold  standard. 


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